Dragon Ball AF: The Alpha Tour Saga
by JTX1000
Summary: Following the overload of the Namekian Dragon Balls, Goku and company fly out into the depths of space to protect the Earth and combat their greatest threat yet. Post-GT. Sequel to the Room of Spirit and Time Saga - Full synopsis in chapter 1. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1 The Room of Spirit and Time

Author's Notes: _Hey guys? Remember me? JTX1000 is reporting back in for another installment of Dragon Ball AF. If you've never read the first one then stick around; this first chapter here is a complete synopsis of the events that unfolded in The Room of Spirit and Time Saga_. _If you're really interested then you can go back and read it, but I'm gonna personally say that reading this first chapter would be just as beneficial_. _As much as I love The Room of Spirit and Time Saga, the beginning is a little aimless with some errors too and I kind of think it drags just a little at the midway point. Plus it's over 170,000 words so that's a pretty big homework assignment. This chapter sums up everything relatively well; you don't even have to really read this since I'll put a little checklist at the end so you guys know what's what going into this new fic._

_Also, for you regular readers I know this fic is late, but the reason for this is that the site has been messing up and not allowing many people to publish on popular fandoms. It won't matter in the long run since it just means you'll get the next update sooner, but regardless I'm still sorry for the delay. There's a link on my profile to one of the many forums of people posting hundreds of comments all with the same problem. Apparently updating chapters is blocked too but there seems to be a way around that, it's just posting new fics that is completely frozen. Thankfully I managed to work around it by posting the story under Dragon Ball rather than Z and then editing it, the downside is that I can't edit characters and whatnot. The two main characters are supposed to be Goku and Vegeta, but since Vegeta didn't _exist _in the original Dragon Ball__ I've had to use someone else.  
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Chapter 1: The Room of Spirit and Time Saga

Six months since Goku's mysterious disappearance following the death of Omega Shenron sees Goten and Trunks hanging out in a local coffee bar, having neglected their training in the Earth's time of peace. Soon after though, Vegeta storms in and demands that Trunks go with him, revealing later that he intends to tutor the boy for a year's worth of training in the recently mended Room of Spirit and Time as he attempts to reach the Super Saiyan 4 without any assistance.

He adds that Gohan and Goten will also be using the Room in the day following their own session, and with that in mind the two enter. Immediately things look suspicious as the pair encounter ghostly apparitions of past events; Trunks sees a transparent, younger version of himself conversing with his relatively unchanged father, and after quizzing him about it Vegeta reveals that they saw a memory of the first time he trained in here with the future version of his son. Trunks insists that the new Room must be faulty and that they should leave while they can, though ever the stubborn one, Vegeta refuses and continues his training. Things carry on as normal for the following months. After getting impatient with his training however, Vegeta stubbornly tries to force the transformation of the Super Saiyan 4, leading to another appearance of the feral Golden Great Ape.

With Vegeta on a rampage Trunks dives into action with his sword at the ready, though with such overwhelming power Trunks is only able to do so much, and before Vegeta can regress into a Super Saiyan 4 he blasts one of the Room's mystical hourglasses in his madness. As the void begins to shift and wildly contort, Vegeta grabs the unconscious form of his son and flies the pair to the main body of the room just before the empty space flies into multiple settings both unfamiliar and recognisable to him. To his horror he also finds that the door back into Earth is completely jammed shut, and that even his most powerful blast does nothing agaist it.

The pair awake to find that with every depletion of the Room's one remaining hourglass, the void shifts in both space and time with a flash of bright light, displaying previous events to them accompanied by echoing voices from their pasts. After Vegeta blissfully sees the capital of his home planet, the void shifts again to show the two a time from Vegeta's past; of him rejecting and insulting Trunks's future iteration back in the reign of the androids. Trunks is annoyed with him, until a later scene shows him that upon the same version's death, Vegeta unleashed a devastating attack upon Cell – an enemy whom he had no chance of defeating.

Finally the Room's chaotic warps cease for a time, landing the pair on an unfamiliar plane of existence in a whole new dimension from their own. Two power levels can be felt approaching in the distance, with one of them familiar to Vegeta alone. The first lands, revealing himself to be none other than Goku's brother Raditz, and as the prince is about to attack the second energy signal of Piccolo arrives and tells him that Raditz had repented and is now a student of his.

It is then that the pair realise that they are in fact in Hell, and as the cry of an evil comrade sounds on the horizon Nappa streams into view, determined once again to get revenge on the saiyan prince. Raditz however, leaps in to the defence of his great leader and defeats Nappa, surprising all with his recent mastery of the Super Saiyan 3. Afterwards, Trunks and Vegeta escort the pair into the Room, and with its next shift Piccolo and Raditz escort them, having been forcefully ripped from the dimension of Hell by the Room's power and back into existence.

Not long after though, that same existence is threatened again as the four Z-Fighters find themselves on another plane of reality; a view staring out over a barren canyon spreading for miles in constant shadow of an enormous black tower in the distance. As soon as four power levels can be felt they arrive, with each new threat acting as an opponent for the group. The two factions banter for a while as these powerful new threats quiz the group as to where Goku is, as their leader known only as the Master wishes to challenge him for title of the strongest in the universe. Piccolo tells them that even if he did know where Goku had gone he wouldn't tell them, and after his temper finally snaps Vegeta steps forwards.

He boasts to the new group that when Kakarot left, the two were at the same stage of power, and that the strongest in the universe is 'standing right in front of you.' After the group displays no interest Vegeta rushes forwards, determined to prove his strength. With only one step off the Room's balcony though, the man finds himself teleported into a whole new place, isolated from the others. Trunks, Piccolo and Raditz all follow him only to find themselves in completely separate locations, each with a new opponent to face.

Piccolo begins against his opponent Secundus, though not before he has a few questions of his own for the strange new foe. He persuades Secundus into telling his about their race, revealing that these new foes are called Vices, and despite looking identical to humans they are incredibly powerful. Piccolo notices before that the power level of the enemies increased with every passing hour that almost identical clock face tattoos on their chest represent, making twelve of them in total. With his mark showing two o'clock, Secundus is therefore the second weakest of the Vices, but even so he remains a powerful foe.

Piccolo asks whether the group's lord known only as the 'Master' is the twelve o'clock symbol, to which Secundus appears frightened and confesses that this is not the case, as he says the Master is far worse than even the strongest of Vices, Duodecimus. Secundus reiterates that the Master wishes to face Goku, who is recognised as the most powerful in the universe, in one on one combat to test his strength. He then laments that his Master will probably not get his wish since the five and six o'clock Vices, Quintus and Seni, both have a power that could best a Super Saiyan 4, and Goku would not go without a fight.

When Piccolo tries to ask another question the two finally battle it out, and as the namekian finds himself in an even match he finally decides to remove the weighted training gear that he wears at all times. This tips the battle in his favour for a short while until the clock face upon Secundus's chest begins to spin as he charges into his maximum power. The two brawl to find themselves equal once more until Piccolo lets out his final attack, though from the smoky collateral Secundus fires his razor sharp technique that manages to completely decapitate the unlucky hero.

Meanwhile, Trunks engages Primus, the first hour and weakest of the twelve Vices. In spite of this, Trunks's full power Super Saiyan 2 is no match for the more powerful foe, and he ends up badly injured until he feels Piccolo's life force fade away. This sparks up new vengeance within, and on the verge of death Trunks finally manages to attain what Vegeta promised him; through the labours of his training he finally accesses the Super Saiyan 3 and finishes Primus in a heartbeat.

Exhausted, Trunks runs out of energy and loses control of the Super Saiyan 3 right before Secundus shows up, still tired from his match with Piccolo but more than capable of finishing Trunks off. The man fears for the worst until Secundus's taunting is cut off by the cry from a familiar voice.

"_Special Beam Cannon!_"

With his head still intact, Piccolo had managed to regenerate and pursue his foe before impaling and killing him with his last shot of the signature attack.

In Raditz's fight against Tertius, the three o'clock Vicis, the two up their power almost immediately. Tertius's clock face spins and Raditz ascends comfortably into the Super Saiyan 3. Tertius's ability is that of extreme speed, and in utilising it to its fullest potential he gets the upper hand. He comments on how the Super Saiyan 3 is Raditz's pinnacle of power, but in response to this Raditz only laughs and explains his past.

During the reign of Super Android 17, when all villains of the past were released from hell, Raditz tried to find Goku and the others to swear his loyalty, having slowly experienced a change of heart after his death. All the while in hell, Nappa hated him for this in his eternal loathing for Vegeta, and the two fought many battles over their conflicting ideologies.

Once resurrected during the time of Super Android 17, Nappa took it upon himself to engage Raditz in combat before he could have any chance to aid the others. After a fierce battle Nappa came out on top and killed the brother of Goku only minutes before the bald saiyan was personally disposed of by Vegeta.

Instead of appearing back in hell though, Raditz found that upon his death he'd kept his body, and once he reached the front of the queue King Yemma told the saiyan to seek out King Kai across Snake Way for some extra training. Raditz reached Kai's planet in no time at all, and after receiving training for a while King Kai confessed that he had no other techniques to teach him, and so sent him back down to the underworld to study under a new master: Piccolo.

Raditz then explains that Piccolo's training enhanced his power to the point where he could access the Super Saiyan 3, but in the decades in which he received no students King Kai had developed a new technique that he taught to Raditz, allowing him to boost his power even further, even whilst transformed.

"_Super Kaio-Ken!_" Raditz proclaims as crimson red aura fuses with his golden one of the Super Saiyan and his power shoots up once again. He matches and even surpasses Tertius's speed, and in no time at all Raditz manages to kill the Vicis with a Kaio-Ken enhanced Double Sunday.

Upon a faraway planet Vegeta finds himself being tossed around like nothing more than a ragdoll before the might of the ascended from of Quintus, the five o'clock Vicis. With the beating he receives Vegeta still manages constantly to get back to his feet, showing off the ungodly determination that has only grown more potent with time. Still it isn't enough, as with only the Super Saiyan 3 form at his disposal Vegeta can't do enough damage or move fast enough to be a real challenge.

After the last failed attempt in the Room of Spirit and Time Vegeta dares not try and access the fourth level again, but after the Vicis uses the room's power to change the landscape again, his mind changes: Running low on energy, Vegeta finally loses control of his Super Saiyan 3 form and falls to one knee, and just to rub salt in the wound Quintus uses the space-time paradox of the Room to transport them to Planet Vegeta, years before its destruction. Seeing such a sight fills Vegeta with a mix of rage and determination required to deflect Quintus's executing blast and take a leap of faith to the Super Saiyan 4.

Finally, without the use of the blutzwave amplifier, Vegeta accesses the fourth level of the Super Saiyan and the two do battle amidst the sprawling metropolis of the capital of Planet Vegeta. Despite their power levels being evenly matched however, Quintus finds himself being steadily pushed back by the brute. In his frustration he asks why this is and Vegeta smirks as he replies. The prince explains that despite the two being virtually even in terms of raw power, the decades of experience that he has garnered on the battlefield means that his fighting skills far surpass the likes of the sheltered Vicis.

A terrified Quintus attempts to flee, but in his anger at endangering the lives of his people in whatever timeline, Vegeta pursues the man and blasts him with a fully charged Final Flash, finishing off the last of the Vices that came to greet them as Quintus's control of the Room vanishes and Vegeta silently bids farewell to his old planet, glad that he got to see it one last time.

The four Z fighters each find themselves back in the room's lobby, looking out once again onto that same shadowy plateau ending in the dark spire of the Vices. Piccolo theorises that thanks its control over the space/time continuum, the Room can transport between different places, times, and even different dimensions like this place and the underworld. He speculates that when Goku left with Shenron he crossed over into a hidden dimension – one blind to the eyes of the Vices, and with their ability to manipulate the Room's properties they plan to use it to transfer across dimensions and find up Goku themselves. After Trunks wishes that Goku were here, Raditz faces the facts and acknowledges that they have no idea where he is or whether or not he's even alive, so they can no longer rely on his help.

The hourglass remaining runs out just in time to mercifully take the group away from another squad of approaching Vices. As the Rooms floats around in space, nothing of any major event happens for a while. Occasionally the sand of the hourglass runs out and he group are transported to somewhere else entirely, though they recognise no planets they've ever visited before.

For three months the four get back into training as Vegeta trains Trunks whilst Piccolo and Raditz stick to their strict regime. After spending a week on a desolate world the four then find themselves being whisked away by the fleeting Room. The place rocks and shakes as if an earthquake were occurring, though through the shifting void the four see what appears to be a mirror reflection of the Room heading towards them.

It is in fact a second Room of Spirit and Time, and as the building nears the two Rooms find themselves magnetising towards one another, linking side by side and snapping together. The Z-Fighters investigate the second Room only to realise to their great surprise that a pair of familiar faces inhabit it.

Gohan and Goten emerge from the Room's chambers, and whilst they are initially suspicious of the Z-Fighters (Raditz in particular), they eventually concede and explain just what in the world is happening. Gohan reveals that despite Vegeta and Trunks only supposed to be gone for a single day in earth time, six months in the outside world have passed since they entered, which under normal circumstances would equate to hundreds of years inside the Room.

Piccolo suggests that this is due to the fact that the Room has been completely dislodged from time; that it has fallen completely out of synch with the Earth's natural restrictions and been allowed to run wild all by itself.

Gohan goes on to tell the group that despite their best efforts and his most powerful Kamehameha blast, the door to the Room of Spirit and Time simply would not open, and with the food inside only being enough for one year the Earth has long since presumed Trunks and Vegeta to be dead. After months pass in the outside world Gohan acknowledges that the group still needed training, and so he asked Dende to create another Room.

He and Goten entered the Room together and trained for a good six months before Goten in his clumsiness accidentally shattered one of the Room's mythical hourglasses. As such the pair were sent two weeks ago into a fluctuating limbo through a whole host of different planets; the same event that happened to Trunks and Vegeta. Gohan concludes his story by recounting the same experience that the four Z-Fighters endured, that after a series of flashes and shifts through space and time they found their own Room magnetising to here.

As expected, upon the next flash the two Rooms are transported together, though they find themselves within another place entirely. The void shifts to an unfamiliar planet characterised by flat planes of fresh grass as another Vicis appears before them. This one bears the sign of seven o'clock upon his chest, making him the most powerful Vicis the group have encountered so far and two stages above the powerful opponent Quintus. He introduces himself as Septimus and then states that the group were located thanks to the Room landing them on the planet of the Kais even despite Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo and Raditz recounting no such visit.

Septimus brushes it aside as being of little significance as he carefully picks his foe out of the six Z-Fighters. He challenges Gohan in a fight to the death, though the unimpressed saiyan merely shrugs off and rejects this challenge, saying that Septimus simply 'isn't worth his time.' An irritated Vegeta once again steps forwards and challenges Septimus. The Vicis claims that he witnessed the match Vegeta fought with Quintus and is subsequently unimpressed by the saiyan's power. Naturally this sparks the prince's anger even further and he rushes the Vicis without hesitation.

The two brawl for a while and Vegeta manages to make Septimus ascend to his full power before being completely overwhelmed by his foe's strength. Just as Septimus is about to finish him off though, the familiar fusion chant rings through the air and a fully powered up Gotenks rescues Vegeta from certain death.

Thanks to Goten recently acquiring the power of the Super Saiyan 3 like Trunks did, the fused form of Gotenks manages to power up all the way to the Super Saiyan 4, making him the third in recent history to do so. Vegeta warns them of the time constraints when using up so much energy though this proves to be of little consequence as Gotenks completely dominates Septimus immediately.

Just as the fusion wears off however, the defeated and dismembered Septimus reveals that his unique power is that of regeneration, and once he is back together he uses his power to stop the two from fusing again. With the aid of a senzu bean Vegeta gets back to his feet and Septimus laughs off the very idea of his challenge. It is only when Vegeta then keeps up with him in combat that the Vicis remembers that recovering from near-death grants a saiyan with even greater power as Vegeta buys enough time for Trunks and Goten to fuse once again and finish the job for good.

As the fighters return to the Room Vegeta suddenly punches and threatens Gohan for his arrogance before. He berates him for rejecting Septimus's challenge and allowing his little brother to do all the work, claiming that despite whatever strength Gohan 'thinks' he now possesses these Vices are not to be taken lightly.

Gohan laments over this but has little time to face his guilt before disaster strikes again. Only minutes after the defeat of Septimus does a second foe show up, this one even stronger at being the number eight Vicis, Octavius. Feeling at fault for his actions before, Gohan steps up to the challenge and reveals a whole new power that only Goten had been previously aware of.

After matching Octavius blow for blow and forcing him to ascend to full power, Gohan takes off his gi to reveal a garment similar to that of the Kais; the kind he wore when training on their planet during Buu's reign and attaining his ultimate form. He informs the group that it was in fact he and Goten's Room of Spirit and Time that arrived on the Planet of the Kais for a week or so, and in that time he had the Elder reawaken his hidden power that had lay dormant in the last decade thanks to his lack of discipline and training.

Once again he powers up to his Ultimate form, revealing that through his recent training he has accessed a subtle second stage of the transformation that's power is even greater than that of a Super Saiyan 4. After a well fought battle he eventually manages to overpower Octavius in a beam clash with his new 'Ultimate Kamehameha', but only after his quick surveying of the area shows him a sight that provides him with all the courage and determination necessary to overwhelm the powerful Vicis.

In the heat of the clash between the two, Gohan swore he saw the distinct figure of his father, standing behind the group and waving cheerily with that same smile he always wore. Upon his victory however, Goku is nowhere to be seen and the other Z-Fighters each confess that they saw or felt nothing of the sort.

With the Room's next shift the group find themselves once again in the shadow of the Vices' spire looking over that same desolate, rocky canyon. They feel more power levels on the horizon, and with their best fighters all completely exhausted Piccolo thinks fast to get them away safely. He blasts one of their two remaining full hourglasses with the Special Beam Cannon, leading to a particularly violent warp through space and time to allow them to escape. Piccolo had realised quickly that the Room is sent whizzing through space whenever one of the hourglasses is broken, and so took drastic measures to prevent the group from being exterminated. He also picks a vital piece of information from Septimus, who unintentionally let slip that the Vices are watching places they've visited before (like the Kai planet) so that whenever the Room transports them to a familiar place they can lock onto its signal and use its power to make the next shift lead the fighters straight to them.

Unfortunately this means that their following shift will land them in danger too, since after an earthquake-like hurtle through space the group find themselves back on Earth; a place where the Vices will almost certainly be watching. Luckily though, the sands of the hourglass fall incredibly slowly, meaning that the group have perhaps a week of safety before the next shift.

Chi-Chi throws a fit upon seeing the man that once killed her husband as Gohan and Goten invite Raditz into their home. Her anger is short-lived however as she reveals that a few days ago she experienced a hallucination of Goku standing in the distance. Gohan confirms that he saw the exact same thing back in the room and the group comes to the conclusion that he must be making his return soon. Raditz informs the family that he will be training alone for the duration of their stay, since he believes that if he trains hard enough he may be able to access the Super Saiyan 4 before the end of the week.

After being away for so long and presumed dead Trunks and Vegeta turn up at the doorstep to Capsule Corporation to greet a tired and overworked Bulma who is naturally ecstatic upon seeing them. Vegeta immediately goes back into training in his own personal chamber, working himself so hard that he collapses several times.

Piccolo meanwhile returns to the Lookout for a talk with Dende, who like the Kais is oblivious to this new threat until told. He asks his fellow namekian to inspect the Room and see if he can stop the hourglass or somehow seal it away, but alas for all his skill Dende fears the Room is too volatile to tamper with. Piccolo then tracks down Uub and Tien, who are training together after being left as the Earth's last line of defence. Hungry for action again, they agree to join his cause as the group meets up once again for the Room's warp.

As expected, the group finds themselves upon a desolate moon confronted by two of the Vices, Quatrus and Seni, representing four and six o'clock respectively. Gohan and Vegeta move to attack, though they quickly find themselves sealed inside the Room's main lobby with everyone else by Quatrus's power of creating powerful barricades of energy. Only Trunks, Uub and Tien remain outside, meaning that the two Vices can challenge them evenly.

Each combatant ascends into full power as Trunks takes on Quatrus whilst Uub and Tien fight Seni. The three struggle immensely and find themselves being completely bested as the group's most powerful fighters can do nothing except watch. Trunks gets punched right out of his transformation and falls to the ground.

Thanks to the incredible amount of surrounding planets around the one moon however, Trunks's eyes suddenly take in an incredible amount of blutzwaves from the surrounding area, and through this freak occurrence he transforms into a Golden Great Ape. After rampaging for a while Trunks's human side takes control and he shrinks down into a fully powered Super Saiyan 4. He suggests to Uub and Tien that they swap opponents and challenges Seni, finding much to his satisfaction that like him, the Vicis wields a sword.

Blades clash as Trunks's newfound power allows him to match Seni's sword blow for blow, and at the end of an extended duel the two confess that they have little left to go on and agree to let out the last of their energy in one final attack. Seni blasts a massive discharge of thunderous energy from the tip of his sword and appears confused when Trunks does not retaliate. The saiyan acts at the last moment however, revealing a new technique called the Echo Force: a surrounding dome of opal light that can reflect any attack dished out on it. Seni dies with his own attack frying him completely as Uub and Tien manage to best Quatrus after a short battle.

Soon more power levels can be felt on the horizon, though whilst the group are debating over it Vegeta uncharacteristically blasts the final hourglass to get them away safely. They find themselves upon a lustrous golden planet the likes of which they've never seen before. The gravity here is intense, though it only makes training that much more effective for them.

After a few weeks the Room shifts again and to the group's dismay they find themselves upon New Planet Namek – another world that the Vices will no doubt be watching, though their time here is well spent at least. Piccolo asks the Elder Moori to gather the Dragon Balls so that they can be used at any time and contacts the Kais using Moori's telepathy.

Piccolo tells the Elder Kai of their dilemma and asks him if he knows anything about it, leading to a story that the Kai recounts from when he was younger. He tells of a great evil that once conquered and laid waste to the universe before he was defeated and sealed away by a great hero in white.

Vegeta meanwhile is growing lax in his training, leading to Raditz confronting him in private and asking him about it. After much deliberation Vegeta finally admits that his training is slowing and that he can feel himself reaching the absolute pinnacle of what he can achieve. He says that within weeks he will have complete mastery over the Super Saiyan 4, and then his progress will stop. Raditz asks him whether or not there could be another level above the Super Saiyan 4 and Vegeta shakes his head. He explains that with the other levels he felt a sense of foreboding; like there was some new plateau of unfathomable power waiting for him around the corner, but with this he feels nothing.

Vegeta confesses that he believes he is getting old. After being in the business of fighting for over fifty years he says he is finally reaching his limits. He goes on to explain that he believes either a level above Super Saiyan 4 doesn't exist or he's simply too old to access it. Raditz assures him that he is technically the King of all Saiyans and an incredible fighter; that the normal limitations of men don't extend to people of his calibre. He adds that Vegeta still needs to finish his fight with Kakarot, giving the Prince much food for thought before the Room finally shifts again.

Once more the group finds themselves in the barren wasteland of the Vices' lair, and since he is itching for a fight Raditz steps forwards once he senses two power levels on the horizon. Just as before however, the moment he steps off the Room's surface Raditz is teleported away to face one of them in single combat. As the remaining energy signal slowly approaches the group debate who would be the ideal applicant to fight, since only one of them will be able to face the second Vicis one on one.

Gohan boldly submits his candidacy to fight, but whilst he states his argument Vegeta steps off the Room's surface and is warped away to take the fight for himself, much to Gohan's annoyance.

Raditz finds himself stranded in a set of snowy peaks facing off against the nine o'clock Vicis Novus. This one stands over seven feet tall, clad head to toe in a mechanical set of power armour and speaking with a distorted, robotic tone to his voice. Even untransformed Novus manages to easily best Raditz at the Super Saiyan 3 level, though he finds himself with his hands full once Raditz shows off the results of his training and transforms into a Super Saiyan 4. For a long time Raditz pounds away at the reinforced armour and dishes out serious damage onto Novus, but for all his hammering the Vicis simply refuses to ascend into his higher level.

After a heavy Double Sunday Novus is left with no choice but to transform, but not before he makes Raditz promise never to utter another word of what he sees. Hesitantly Raditz agrees and the Vicis begins to power up. A smokescreen blasts away in sheer power and beyond the veil the saiyan can hear the clunking of the hefty armour being discarded. The mist eventually clears to reveal not a giant man, but a modestly proportioned, gorgeous looking woman behind the mask.

Raditz is convinced that some kind of trick is at hand until he scopes out the beauty's power level to see that everything is completely genuine. She looks sad and confesses that even Duodecimus has not seen her in this form before. Sensing a genuinely kind hearted person behind the cool facade, Raditz tells her that he doesn't want to fight and asks her to join them.

Out of fear of the Master's power, Novus refuses, and the two have no choice but to engage in combat once again. With Novus's incredible strength Raditz bolsters his efforts to a three times Super Kaio-Ken in order to merely keep up with her and the battle comes to a climax as Raditz breaks out his new move the Kaio-Cannon, which is met by Novus's equally powerful Divine Blaster. Raditz pushes his Kaio-Ken up to a quadruple, and when that threatens to take his life he blasts it up to a times five to quickly overwhelm the woman whilst almost completely destroying his body in the process.

On the verge of death and losing consciousness, the broken and beaten Raditz appears shocked when a mangled Novus drags her half-dead form towards him. In her last breath the woman converts the last of her life force into him, wishes him well and opens up a portal for the rejuvenated saiyan. He flies through it only to see a fully transformed Vegeta having the tar beaten out of him by Decimus, the number ten.

He swiftly intervenes and with the time he buys the saiyan proposes fusion to the Prince after Vegeta eats the last senzu bean. Reluctantly Vegeta agrees and the two fuse right as Decimus closes in. As a Super Saiyan 4 and the power of two pure-blooded saiyans at his disposal the all-powerful Vegeditz wipes the floor with Decimus, and even after the Vicis unleashes his signature power of growing to gargantuan sizes the saiyan still bests him despite being only a fraction of the size.

The battle finishes swiftly with a fused finishing move named the Final Sunday, and in its aftermath the two are warped back to the Room's lobby. With no hourglasses left to smash the group can do nothing except prepare once the power signals of the final two Vices can be felt upon the horizon. Gohan braces himself for battle once again, though moments before impact a familiar face intervenes.

The Z-Fighters hear the nostalgic sound of Goku's instant transmission as the fully grown man teleports in before them. He quickly grabs them and warps the group through dimensions, leaving the Vices with no opponents left and in possession of the precious Room of Spirit and Time.

The group finds themselves inside a huge hall which Goku explains is Shenron's lair and own private dimension that he led them to using his newly upgraded Inter-Dimensional Instant Transmission. He tells them that the Dragon Balls are a kind of vehicle that when gathered together open up a portal to the Dragon's realm.

Vegeta punches Goku and berates him for letting his sons and allies do all the work, but the saiyan apologises and says that the Dragon wouldn't let him leave until his training was complete, and only let him transmit images of himself to his friends to assure them that he was okay. Goku then notices Raditz shying away, and contrary to Raditz's preconceptions he quickly accepts his brother as a friend, reasoning that if Piccolo and the others trust him then he should as well.

Tien realises in horror that the Vices now have control of The Room of Spirit and Time, though Goku explains that they will have to wait until the next shift (two weeks) before they can manipulate it towards their universe. He proclaims that in one week he and Vegeta will mount a full assault upon their tower. Vegeta ponders why he didn't ask Gohan, Raditz or Piccolo before the namekian himself asks a question.

Piccolo states that more than a year has passed since his departure, meaning that the Dragon should have enough energy to grant them a wish – they could seal away the Room of Spirit and Time. Goku bashfully scratches his head and says that the request _would _be within Shenron's power had he not already used a wish recently.

The group look confused and this prompts Goku to elaborate nervously. To the dismay of the Z-Fighters Goku used a wish to restore youth to both Chi-Chi and Bulma since the two are constantly complaining about how young Goku and Vegeta look in comparison. Piccolo is furious as usual, but Vegeta suspects that part of wasting the wish could be because Goku wants to have a crack at the Master himself.

Vegeta gets out of bed later on and walks out of the great hall to see a moonlike domain that carries on as far as the eye can see. The gravity here is more intense than he usually experiences even in his own private training room, and so he has to ascend to maximum power just to take a look around. He finds Goku bidding farewell to Shenron, and as the dragon disappears the two saiyans banter for awhile.

The prince finally asks Goku why he wants to attack the Vices' lair with him rather than the others, admitting that both Raditz and Gohan have a power at least equal to his own on top of the ability to soar to new heights. He laments again that his own power has completely reached his limits, but before he can count himself out Goku cryptically replies, telling him that he has the 'potential'.

Before the saiyan can elaborate however Goku transmits himself away, leaving Vegeta to ponder over the man's words by himself.

The next day Goku transmits the Z-Fighters back to Earth, and sure enough both Chi-Chi and Bulma appear as only being in their late twenties, much to Gohan's disappointment, as he now looks older than his own mother. The group train as usual, and in almost no time at all their week is up. With Gohan, Trunks and Raditz all complaining about missing out, Goku eventually concedes and allows all eight of the Z-Fighters to come along with him.

With Goku's next Instant Transmission the group finds themselves right at the front door of the dark tower that the Vices inhabit. The group enter and are quickly attacked from all sides by hundreds of strange looking, deformed and grey monsters, each powerful enough to give the Z-Fighters trouble. Goku informs the group that Shenron told him these things are called 'Vynuls', and that they are failed attempts at creating the Vices. He goes on to explain that the Master has an almost infinite number of them at his disposal and suggests that the group split up so that they can go and face the last two Vices.

With two opposing staircases leading up the tower, Goku takes Gohan with him up one flight and tells Trunks to accompany Vegeta up the next, leaving the Vynuls living in the hall in the capable hands of the five remaining Z-Fighters.

The saiyan is left disappointed when his long flight of the stairs leads him to Unidecimus, the eleven o'clock Vicis. He had hoped to face their captain Duodecimus, yet it seems that honour is reserved for Vegeta. Gohan insists on fighting this turn, and in seeing his saiyan blood go to work once again Goku allows him to test himself against the powerful foe. Once maxed out Gohan manages to make Unidecimus ascend to his even greater power, and once that happens the hybrid saiyan is beaten to a pulp by the quiet yet cruel Vicis.

Having disposed of the Vynuls in the hall the five remaining Z-Fighters enter the room and Piccolo asks Goku why he does not intervene. He explains that Gohan would resent him if he tried to save him when he's still not done, and so he waits for his son to be completely bested until he finally steps in. Unidecimus then reveals that with the Room's power they can transport relatively weak beings through dimensions, and so in torment to Gohan he deploys a small battalion of Vynuls to the planet Earth through a small portal.

As Piccolo and the others insist that they swiftly return to Earth Goku only smiles as another part of his plan is revealed. He tells them that he didn't just restore youth to Chi-Chi and Bulma, but also another Z-Fighter whose strength should prove to be invaluable.

Back on the planet Earth the wives of the two saiyans hear explosions on the horizon and realise to their horror that creatures have attacked earth whilst Goku and the others are away. The two fear for their lives as the Vynuls close in before another familiar face appears. With a rejuvenation and a power boost in tow, Krillin enters the fray with a collection of Destructo Disks and manages to destroy the approaching threat to thwart Unidecimus's plan.

Vegeta meanwhile is completely blown away by the strength of his opponent Duodecimus. His pride refuses to let him stay down for long, though his body is completely ravaged by the Vices captain's ability to increase the gravity around him to unfathomable heights. When he refuses to stay down once again, Duodecimus seizes Trunks and breaks almost every bone in his body using his power, prompting a roar of power from the saiyan Prince.

The tower itself shakes and begins to crumble under the pressure of Vegeta's transformation, and the only person who seems to have a clue about what is happening is Goku himself, who challenges Unidecimus to show the group firsthand.

Quickly he ascends through the ranks of the Super Saiyan, explaining each one in turn to Unidecimus and telling him that this will be the last time he ever gets to see them. As Goku hits the Super Saiyan 4 the Vicis laughs, believing it to be the very pinnacle of Goku's strength just as it was before.

As the saiyan begins to smile though, Raditz's ever-growing suspicions are confirmed as Goku is enveloped in a powerful blinding light, transforming to a higher level known as the never seen before Super Saiyan 5. He gives Unidecimus three chances to walk away as the Vicis tries in vain to destroy him before unleashing a new destructive force known as the Dragon Kamehameha to end the fight and put Unidecimus down for the count, holding back just enough power to keep the man alive.

Raditz asks what is going on upstairs as the dark tower continues to shake with Vegeta's transformation, and Goku tells him that the Prince is undergoing the initial metamorphosis of the Super Saiyan 5. Goku then reveals that unlike the other stages of the Super Saiyan, if one fails to attain it in time then they die.

Meanwhile the Prince of all Saiyans finds himself suspended in an open void of his own mind where he is challenged by a great ape several times bigger than any he has ever seen before. With a lack of power Vegeta is unable to even transform into the first stage of Super Saiyan and finds himself being knocked around by the ape as haunting visions of Bulma, Trunks and Goku torment him about his supposed limits.

On the verge of death Vegeta sees a final vision; the kind that has been playing on his mind for some time now. He sees himself as a decrepit old man, perhaps three or perhaps thirty years down the line, unable to fight and stripped of all power. It is only too late that the Prince realises that this is a test designed to see whether or not he is worthy to attain the fifth level.

Vegeta wills himself to stand despite being crushed and broken, and upon seeing a final vision of the dying Trunks he flies up to meet the ape head-on, utilising the full extent of his strength and emerging from the trial as a whole new being.

Back to his old self and wielding the absolute power of the Super Saiyan 5, Vegeta engages Duodecimus for a second time, and to the Vices' horror the Prince can now keep up with his movements and matches him blow for blow with his newest transformation. Duodecimus throws up his gravity field once more, yet it proves no match as Vegeta ploughs through it using every last ounce of strength to land his latest combo the 'Royal Assault' to put Duodecimus out of commission.

Goku and the others regroup with the Prince just in time to see the floor above them completely shatter as the physical form of the Master descends to meet them. With a power even more horrifying than any imagined he kills the already beaten Unidecimus and Duodecimus before challenging Goku just as he wished, and so the saiyan engages him in combat with the Super Saiyan 5.

The battle rages on as a worn out Vegeta is too weak to access his own ascended transformation and can only watch as Goku is toyed with and beaten badly. An incoming blast of unimaginable power towards Goku's blind spot then prompts the Prince to leap into the fray in an attempt to push Kakarot out of the way, though his arm gets caught in the blast and is subsequently blown away in the explosion.

Panicking, Goku quickly grabs the group and transports them back through dimensions to the Lookout. Dende manages to heal Trunks's devastating injuries at Vegeta's pained request, though afterwards the namekian healer can do nothing for the dismembered saiyan. Goku confesses that the Master was far more powerful than he ever dreamed of as Piccolo knocks Vegeta out to spare him the pain of his lost arm.

Vegeta awakens two days later back at his own home, and moments within his rise Bulma rushes in to attach a prosthetic arm of her own making, virtually indistinguishable from a real arm at first glance. Vegeta insists that it would do little good before she explains that it was made from tempered steel that was reinforced by the full power of Goku's blasts and would still allow him to fight. The Prince begrudgingly accepts her offering and quickly seeks out Kakarot once healed.

Vynuls are deployed from the Vices' dimension to conquer and subdue half the planets in the galaxy, causing the Z-Fighters remaining to deploy themselves in three man shifts to patrol Earth and prevent their own planet from being eradicated.

For the remaining five days both Goku and Vegeta train at a solitary moon lightyears away from the planet Earth, fuelled by a series of elixirs created by Dende and Popo that give them a steady stream of energy lasting a single hour. The pair consume countless of these in order to train for the duration without the need for sleep before eventually running out and collapsing twelve hours before the Master is expected to make his comeback.

The Universe itself seems to quake in fear and the skies of every planet in existence flashes with energy upon the arrival of the greatest threat it has ever faced. Chronus crosses dimensions and quickly destroys the Room of Spirit and Time so that it can never be used against him. He then begins to blow planets out of the sky, causing Uub and the other Z-Fighters to warp into space using Trunks's Super Saiyan 4 Echo Force technique as a barrier to allow them to observe only.

As Goku and Vegeta are still nowhere to be seen, Uub himself decides to engage the Master, having powered up from before and re-acquiring the power of the old Majin to survive in the void of space. Since they lack this technique, Gohan and the others can do nothing except watch from the domed barrier of Trunks's Echo Force ability as Uub is beaten to a pulp before finally destroyed under the blast of the Master.

With his last breath however, Uub manages to get within inches of the monster and uses his last cell of energy to Instant Transmit the two to a desolate world not far beneath the other Z-Fighters so that they can fight him on even ground. As Gohan and the others descend towards the planet though, a new force shows itself on the horizon as a holy stream of white light surges past them.

Upon arriving on the deserted planet the Z-Fighters see the Master and another warrior square off against one another as a fight is about to take place. As the two talk, the newcomer reveals that the two are brothers and that he is in fact the hero of legend that the Elder Kai spoke of in his old tale.

Hyperion is his name, and he reveals the Master's true name to be Chronus, telling the others that he sealed him away millions of years ago following Chronus's murdering of their family out of jealousy for his older brother. The pair power up to their maximum strength as a fight breaks out that sends bolts of energy ricocheting across the entire universe. Through his fighting style, Hyperion's moves closely resemble that of Novus's, but the hero's techniques eventually prove no match as Chronus defeats him and destroys the whole planet in the climax of their battle.

Using Trunks's essential technique once again the Z-Fighters manage to escape back into space just in time to avoid being blown up along with the nameless world. Finally Goku and Vegeta show up, warping directly into Trunks's Echo Force and challenging Chronus to another battle. The Master however explains that he has little interest in fighting them again and simply begins to destroy planets from space. With no way to survive in the empty void outside of the Echo Force Goku eventually cracks and the group is forced to retreat back to the Lookout to figure out some way for them to fight on even terms.

Vegeta suggests paying Bulma a visit, and sure enough the blue-haired scientist in just two hours comes up with a way to allow the fighters to survive in space via wrist-mounted devices, though she advises the group to be careful with them since they are prone to breaking. Once again Goku contacts the Kais and Namek's Elder Moori, finding out that the namekians have gathered all seven Dragon Balls. With this knowledge he sends Piccolo to the planet using the Instant Transmission, and with two of Bulma's gadgets at the ready he and Vegeta fly out into space for one final confrontation with Chronus.

Despite their training and combined efforts the pair find that they can only do so much against the ascended Chronus, and so after much coaxing Vegeta finally agrees to try fusion at the expense of his own pride. As Gogeta, the fused warrior suddenly pulls out the last of Dende's elixir that the pair used for training and finishes it in one gulp. With this in tow the fusion will last a constant hour instead of the five minutes the two would have at their maximum power.

Gogeta dominates Chronus completely as a Super Saiyan 5 as their battle escalates into space atop countless exploding worlds. For all his attacking force though, Chronus's powers of regeneration pull him back from the brink of death numerous times, so Gogeta opts to perform a new Spirit Bomb which consumes the last of his energy and forces the two to split once again.

Sadly though, their efforts are in vain, as Chronus miraculously regenerates again. With the two separated they can do little against the onslaught of the Master, yet things turn even worse as Chronus realises their trump card of the Dragon Balls and directs a blast towards Planet Namek.

Bravely Piccolo flies into the stratosphere in an attempt to stop the attack, contacting Moori and telling him to quickly summon the Dragon. Despite the namekian's fear of these Dragon Balls overloading, the group use their first wish to send all the invading Vynuls back to the domain from which they came. For their second wish, all life across the cosmos is restored from the reign of terror that the creatures employed. Finally the third wish is used to replenish the energy of Goku and Vegeta, and just as the Dragon Balls seem about to explode with power they rocket off into the sky and disperse as usual.

Even though the group's wishes have been fulfilled Piccolo still refuses to give up, knowing that if he loses focus the blast will overwhelm both him and his beloved home planet. He ascends to his full power, lets out a primal roar in his barricade and manages to stop the blast, though it is at the cost of his own life as the namekian passes over into the next world once again.

With Goku devastated Chronus pounds away at the two, preventing them from fusion in light of their recent power restoration. During a scuffle out in the void of space Goku holds up an accidental block which shatters the device upon his arm allowing him to survive in the atmosphere. He is forced to grab Vegeta and warp to a nearby planet before the device breaks completely.

With Goku now lacking the ability to survive amidst the void the two are left grounded as Chronus closes from space with a devastating attack that threatens to destroy the planet they stand upon. The pair brace themselves to make the biggest deflection of their lives before another saiyan intervenes. A Super Kaio-Ken cries through the air and Raditz appears out of nowhere to stop the blast, using his own body as a shield.

Goku rushes to his side in the aftermath as Chronus touches down on the planet, though the strain of Raditz's Super Kaio-Ken and the power from Chronus's blast is simply too much for his body to handle, and so he draws his last breath having fully redeemed himself in the eyes of the Z-Fighters.

Vegeta then assures Goku that he will hold Chronus off as long as there is breath within him to give the saiyan time enough to create another Spirit Bomb, one which draws life from every corner of the universe. Goku agrees, and so Vegeta engages in the beating of his life. Despite countless attempts to put him out of action the Prince keeps on getting up with his inhuman determination shining through in full force.

Chronus is mere moments away before finishing the job before a Kamehameha intervenes and Gohan joins the fray. His actions do little against the monster, though the pair manage to hold him off for a few more precious minutes until a divine attack bails them out of certain death.

Despite being broken and on the verge of collapse, the believed-to-be dead Hyperion uses the last of his energy to restrain Chronus momentarily and heal the wounds of both Vegeta and Gohan. He then confronts Goku, and after seeing the purity that he wields the holy warrior opts to transfer his life force into the Spirit Bomb to give it another vital boost in power.

Free of his shackles, Chronus arrives on the scene once again, and Goku debates throwing the bomb early until Vegeta dives in for one last brawl with the monster. As usual he is thrown around and suffers injuries no normal man could take, though he buys valuable time until Chronus holds him in a tight lock and recalls their last battle.

The Master remembers that Vegeta lost his arm and so painfully begins to crush the metallic prosthetic to envoke agony on Vegeta's behalf. Finally, after gathering energy from every life form on the universe, Goku cries up to Vegeta that the Spirit Bomb is ready after seeing him in such pain. The Prince struggles to get free, though a double Kamehameha from both Gohan and a newly revived Uub gives him the distraction he needs to wrench free of the Master's hold and soar out of the flightpath of Goku's Spirit Bomb.

Seeing the planet sized ball of energy fly up to its mark, Vegeta lands next to his rival and asks him whether it will be enough to destroy Chronus. Regrettably Goku confesses that he has no idea, and that he threw the bomb before he was sure in an attempt to stop Vegeta being killed. He states that theoretically it should work, but the Prince insists that Chronus defies all logic and only one hundred percent certainty will succeed in destroying him.

Vegeta confesses that he still has much energy left, having had little chance to use any with the beating he took against Chronus. Goku considers what he means before the saiyan bids him a final farewell and sets off towards the sky. Unable to follow him into space, Goku is left powerless to stop the proud Prince as he races towards the slowly approaching Spirit Bomb and shoots up and _into _the ball of energy itself, remembering that the technique will never harm someone on the side of good.

Once inside the Spirit Bomb Vegeta initiates his final technique; it is one that uses up his vital life force energy, and as such he has not perfected it since becoming a Super Saiyan 5, but with a sacrifice in mind, he feels he doesn't have to. He charges a crimson energy and dips into his last reserves of strength to bring out a power far too great to be conceivably wielded by one man.

He sees the smile upon Chronus's face as the beast realises he can take on the Spirit Bomb without dying, though what he doesn't realise is that Vegeta's final attack is waiting in surprise to couple with the massive ball of energy.

The Spirit Bomb detonates right as Vegeta fires his last technique: The Crimson Oblivion. Radiant energy surges through the entire cosmos as the two devastating attacks merge in synchronism and erupt with a blast that wipes Chronus's existence from the face of the universe. A terrified Goku borrows Gohan's wrist mounted device and briefly warps into space to retrieve Vegeta before transporting him back down to Earth, however it is too late for the broken saiyan Prince.

The two share a moment as Goku helps Vegeta to stand in the wake of his shallow victory, however the saiyan insists that his death will be worth it when thinking of Trunks, Bulma and all the other lives he's potentially saved. He also reflects that his real arm should be restored to him in the afterlife Under a crimson sunset of his own doing Vegeta finally draws his last breath, leaving a distraught Goku swearing to somehow bring him back as Mr. Satan confesses his weakness and lack of involvement in anything to the world in the aftermath of the final battle.

* * *

Author's Notes: _So, in its shortest form, that was the Room of Spirit and Time Saga. Now onto what you're here for: The Alpha Tour Saga_

_Things you need to know/remember going in:_

- The Z-Fighters faced a threat known as the Vices_, _one of whom, Novus, repents before her death

- The major villain was known as Chronus, who had a pure hearted older brother named Hyperion who also died

- Goku is back

- Raditz has also repented, and after training with King Kai one of his new signature attacks is the 'Super Kaio-Ken'

- A new transformation exists called the Super Saiyan 5, wielded by both Goku and Vegeta

- Both Raditz and Trunks can also access the Super Saiyan 4

- Goten can become a Super Saiyan 3

- Gohan has also unlocked a new strain of his Ultimate form, having reawakened it from the Elder Kai

- In the final battle Piccolo, Raditz and Vegeta all perished before Chronus (_hey I just realised that it was only the ones who used to be bad guys xD)_


	2. Chapter 2 Overload

Chapter 2: Overload

Three Years Later

"Carto, are you sure about this? I mean the Elder said-"

"Screw what the Elder said – that old buzzard is just too scared to make risks while our countrymen die by the day."

Carto and Ponda, a pair of simple namekian peasants, trudged through the freezing snowstorm that had suspended New Planet Namek in a constant state of blizzard for the last six months. They both carried a weighty Dragon Ball under each arm; Ponda stopped momentarily to pull his scarf back over his face to shield himself from the biting cold. Most of the sea had frozen over, the few Ajisa trees had died and many elders and younglings along with them. Moori had told them constantly that this storm would soon be over, yet six months down the line and the freak-weather still showed no signs of slowing down. It was time to take action.

"Kilick! Hey Kilick – you still alive out there?" Yelled Carto into the wind using the native tongue.

"Yeah I'm still here buddy! Did you get the last Dragon Balls?"

Kilick's cry led the two through the fog and into an area closed off by the surrounding cliffs where the last member of their squad sat shivering around a campfire, protecting three Dragon Balls.

"We got all seven Kilick – we finally did it." Said Ponda.

"Then what are we waiting for? I'm freezing my butt off out here."

"That's more like it." Carto laughed. Quickly the three namekians rolled the starred balls into a perfect circle and stared hungrily after them as none were swift to suggest summoning the great beast themselves. A few moments of awkward silence hung in the frozen air before Kilick finally broke it.

"So uh. . . We get three wishes right? What do we use the other two for?" He asked.

"We'll figure out when we get there – the Ajisa trees could do with being completely restored, but beyond that you can use them as you wish." Said Carto, who appeared to be the leader of this small operation.

"Carto my friend, I'll just ask you one more time. Do we have to do this?" Ponda asked. "I mean it goes against everything our people wanted and-"

The outspoken alien's query was suddenly cut off by the force of Carto grabbing him by the neck of his jacket, threatening to throw him onto the fire if he didn't cooperate. "Listen to me Ponda. I have a son at home who grows sicker by the day. I fear he will not make it if this continues any longer. You're looking after an egg back home are you not? You think it'll hatch in this kind of environment? Just think of all the lives we'd be saving!"

After looking fearful for the next few moments Ponda sighed and exhaled deeply.

"Guess you're right." He reasoned.

"Don't worry – I know what Moori says but they shouldn't overload on a wish so small. The Namekian Dragon Balls have restored entire planets back to life and revived countless civilisations, so what's the climate change of one small planet in the grand scheme of things?" With that, Carto turned to the Dragon Balls and placed his hands over them, feeling compelled to summon Porunga himself after his little speech.

In a far grander tone Carto called out the words in the namekian language to allow the Dragon Balls to glow with a bursting energy and the sky to turn a charcoal black. With a noise like a violent thunderclap Porunga emerged from the balls in a flash of golden light and towered over the three namekians, making all but Carto cower back in fear.

"**You have collected all seven Dragon Balls. . ."** Boomed the voice, speaking from a gaunt face some three hundred feet up in the air and staring down at the trio with eyes of a radiant crimson. **"And now, as it is written; think wisely and I will grant you three wishes within my power!"**

"Great Dragon Porunga!" Called Carto in his own language. "If it is in your ability, please restore the climate to the way it was before on this planet. Make everything green again and rid us of this freezing age!"

The Dragon paused for a few moments with the same expression he always carried, leaving the three to endure the longest five seconds of their lives before Porunga spoke once again.

"**As you wish." **He said slowly, eyes flaming with energy. **"It shall be done. . ."**

Almost immediately the change was noticeable. The howling wind that prevented the group from talking any more than ten paces away subsided as the overcast cloud gave way to two of Namek's three suns. Carto, Ponda and Kilick each let out sounds of wonder; around them the knee-high snow had already begun to melt and the crashing of waves could again be heard lapping against the shore of the small island. Their wish had been granted; Namek was peaceful once again.

"See! I told you Ponda – it's over! We can finally-"

"**Now. . . State your second wi-. . ."**

Porunga's loud, echoing voice cut off Carto's conversation, yet his voice slowly dimmed as his sentence trailed off into nothingness. With perplexed expressions the three namekians stared up at the Dragon and could only watch in horror as the light from his eyes slowly faded into whites. He tried to move the single limb of his enormous, muscular arm, though he struggled and quaked as if caught in some paralysis technique.

"Great Porunga! What-"

For the last time Carto's query was interrupted. Porunga suddenly seemed to dissolve into a column of deep smoke, towering up and coloured a sickly yellow whilst giving out a pungent odour. Once the mist cleared, Porunga no longer stood there, but he was instead replaced by a smaller dragon with a sinister glare amidst the same red eyes as his predecessor. He was almost wyvern-like in appearance, sporting a long yellow body that sprouted enormous wings and two undersized arms before leading up to an elongated face. Pallid smoke shrouded him, stemming up from the Dragon Balls themselves as a mass leak of negative energy

"What the – where's Porunga?" Cried Kilick.

The eerie, smoke shrouded abomination only grinned before scooping up all seven Dragon Balls with a swift catch of his clawed hands. He gave the trio no time to question him before raising the seven balls to frothing maw and swallowing them whole. A thunderclap raced across the darkened sky as the mist surrounding him fanned out and his power level swelled to an unimaginable size.

Around him cackles of lightning and tongues of flame could be spied circling; his sneering voice warped into a twisted laugh of malicious chuckling and he arched his neck to the sky.

"**Omega was a fool!"** He roared. **"Why create new life with this kind of negative energy at my fingertips? I'll create something more – a force the likes of which the universe has never seen!"**

"You idiots!" Cried a voice. "What have you done?

Having seen the black sky and the Dragon from afar, Moori had arrived on the scene. As old as he was the namekian could still fly and was still strong enough to teach these middle aged men a lesson, yet on this day he didn't want to. His greatest fears had finally come to pass.

"I told you not to use them! Now look what's happened! You've unleashed a power greater than you could ever comprehend!"

"**Silence old man!"** Snarled the Dragon. **"You have no power over me anymore! **_**Nobody **_**does!"**

With that, the Dragon suddenly regurgitated six balls as glowing trails of light, each headed by energy based Dragons harbouring compressed power levels at their centre. He then shrunk into one himself and joined the rest in shooting off into space, dispersing each of them to a specific location in the galaxy of his own choosing.

"You've doomed us all. . ." Muttered Moori, dropping weakly to his knees. "You've really doomed us all."

* * *

Six Months Ago

Vegeta soared through the empty space of the otherworld at speeds he'd dare not travel before, but since that fateful day at the defeat of Chronus his training had soared to new heights once again. He punched at invisible foes before venturing out further into the void of the afterlife where the gravity was even more intense to fire off concentrated blasts into the sky. For five hours he'd been pushing himself further than yesterday; it was the same routine that he'd been employing day after day without rest, yet the thought of Kakarot doing the same thing back on Earth pushed him to work that extra bit harder.

Gallons of sweat and a thousand ki blasts later, Vegeta soared back into the main hub of the otherworld, where the Grand Kai had allowed him access to upon mere seconds of his death. He picked up a towel and dabbed his face, preparing to hit the shower after a training session more extreme than ever. Even after working himself to the brink of extinction though, the Prince's senses remained as alert as ever, meaning that when a powerful energy signal flew in over the horizon he was the first to feel its presence. It was a saiyan power level; pureblood too – no doubt about it.

He could feel Raditz's ki several miles away, and he doubted a brute of Nappa's temperament would've been allowed access to a place so sacred, so for a moment he clenched his fists in anger, thinking that the thick-headed Kakarot had gone and gotten himself killed once again. It _felt _like Kakarot's energy, sure enough, yet it something about it simply assured him that it was some imposter instead.

Well he was half right – the signal wasn't Kakarot's, but this was no imposter. He narrowed his eyes to get a better look as the figure streamed into view, as it seemed to be travelling in his direction. Despite being weary he braced himself for a fight, yet when none came he was only left confused whilst the figure touched down.

He was an older man than Kakarot, though his facial structure and wacky array of hair were almost identical. He wore saiyan battle armour, trimmed green as a sign of the lower class fighter; forty years ago Vegeta would've dismissed him as a commoner, but experience had taught him to think otherwise.

He looked older than Kakarot even with the saiyan's prolonged youth keeping him healthy looking – he must've been in his eighties for sure; his appearance in earth years however pitted him at his early forties. An x-shaped scar was carved across his cheek and a bloodstained bandanna was wrapped around his forehead, but aside from the saiyan battle armour they were the only things that separated him from being an older version of Kakarot. Was he Goku from the future?

"Hail Vegeta, King of all Saiyans." He said at last, bowing low onto one knee as a show of fealty.

Vegeta snorted a laugh: he _definitely _wasn't Kakarot. "Who are you?" He asked. "Is this some kind of joke? Why do you look like Kakarot?"

"My name is Bardock, Vegeta. And I take it from your reaction that my son seems to have inherited my good looks."

Vegeta's breath escaped him as it suddenly fell into place. Of course; this man was Kakarot's _father_ – that would make him Raditz's too. "So, you're Kakarot's old man – guess that explains it. What are you doing here?"

"I'll explain the rest on the way, but for now just know that I'm taking you back to the realm of the living."

"_Ha!_" Laughed the Prince. "Good one. The Dragon Balls of Earth are gone and the namekians won't use theirs for another few decades after hearing the horror story we told them of ours."

"Another road has opened up to the world of the living, but we don't have much time; I've stalled too long in debating the implications."

"Implications of what? And even if I did believe you, to what end would you have us restored to life? If we were needed back down on Earth I'd know about it by now – the universe has been safe for well over two years now."

"As it stands now the cosmos is untroubled, but I assure you it won't stay that way for long."

"And how is it that you've come to know this? Are _you _planning on destroying it?"

"We really don't have time." Bardock insisted. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you anyway."

"Try me – either way I'm not going anywhere and risk screwing up my training until I know."

Bardock sighed and put his hands to his head. Vegeta was as stubborn as he'd expected; he'd taken that from his father at least. Unlike Raditz, he wouldn't move anywhere until he knew what was going on. He had to explain everything and let him know the gravity of the situation before anything could be accomplished.

"Fine." He reasoned. "But just humour me for a moment and suspend your disbelief; you might not believe what I'm about to tell you."

"I've seen my fair share of unbelievable things in my lifetime Bardock." Assured Vegeta.

"Very well." Bardock nodded and took a seat – this would be a long story indeed. "About sixty years ago I was stationed on a planet called Kanassa with the goal of conquering it under the order of Frieza. You remember him, don't you?"

Vegeta nodded and sported a disgusted grimace at the very mention of tyrant who'd murdered his entire race and taken the Prince under his wing as one of his own personal lapdogs.

"There we fought against the Kanassan warriors. They were weak in stature and power, but what they lacked in physical strength they made up for in psychic abilities. As we slaughtered the last one it unconsciously transferred some of its power into me, giving me the ability to see the future."

Years ago Vegeta would've laughed at the man's ridiculous claim, but he was Kakarot's father after all; he had to give him the benefit of the doubt and at least hear out his story to the end.

"I saw the mass genocide that Frieza brought to our people, so I confronted him about it, and here I am today. I saw many things that had not yet passed before my death, and since that time the power has lay dormant, until a few months ago. . ."

Vegeta cocked his eyebrow in interest.

"I saw the new path one must walk for one to escape the afterlife, and I immediately sent a fighter across it to confirm its validity. It exists as I saw, and since _that _is real, the other things I saw must be real as well: I felt a great power the likes of which exceeds your old enemy Chronus,"

Vegeta unfolded his arms and despite himself he couldn't help but feel more excited than ever. He would've dismissed this man as out of his tree had he not shared Kakarot's resemblance and promised an all powerful foe that made his saiyan blood boil.

"I also saw a battle between you and my son – your promised rematch I presume."

Vegeta smirked. The very thought of a true battle with Kakarot made his saiyan blood boil, yet with an approaching new foe why would the two have time to set aside for a sparring match? Vegeta wondered on this as Bardock continued.

"But most importantly, I awoke from my vision simply _knowing _one thing: If you and Raditz don't accompany me right now and join the Earth's forces for their stand against this threat, then all life as we know it will end."

With his story told Bardock sat back and waited for the Prince's answer as Vegeta simply put a hand to his chin and weighed up the man's story. This wasn't just any man, this was Kakarot's father, and furthermore he'd not only foreseen a new threat but also his bout with Kakarot.

"So where is this new path to the living?" Vegeta asked.

"Not too far from here, but be warned, it is _not _to be taken lightly. Imagine Snake Way as a baby step compared to this path's million strides of a giant. On top of that the gravity can become unbearable if one isn't prepared."

Again Vegeta paused, though after a few seconds he'd made his mind up; he trusted this man, yet only one question remained.

"How unbearable?"

* * *

"_Kaio Cannon!_"

"_Divine Blaster!"_

Mirroring beams of crimson and gold crashed into each other with an earth-shattering ferocity as both the estranged saiyan Raditz and the Vicis beauty Novus finished their sparring session with a beam collision. Each struggled to maintain hold and fought for domination by pouring more and more ki into the blasts, yet in the end Raditz's increase of his signature Kaio-Ken overruled the opposing blast. He dispelled the energy moments before it damaged her seriously, and in the session's aftermath his overuse of the technique left him in agony to move a simple muscle.

"You really shouldn't push it too hard." She said, speaking softly as she landed beside him. "You might've won that one, but you know if I were an enemy I'd have you at my mercy right now."

"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you?" He forced a laugh through a tightening chest made painful from the overuse of his Super Kaio-Ken. "And anyway if you were an enemy I'd have blown you to smithereens with that attack."

Novus laughed alongside him and settled down in the fresh grass that they'd used as a training area for the last two years. "Touché." She said.

Despite being in service to the demon Chronus at the time of her defeat, Novus's sacrifice of her own life energy to save Raditz at her death had not gone unnoticed by the overseers of the universe. She'd been allowed to keep her body in the afterlife and had joined Raditz as a sparring partner and a close friend for the last two and a half years.

The two relaxed and merely talked for almost a full hour, with Novus waiting patiently in the grass for the man to recover enough to properly move. The pair were almost equally matched in terms of raw strength, though rarely did they ascend to their maximum power out of fear of killing one another, which was part of the reason why Raditz had seen very little of Vegeta since he got here; the Prince didn't do holding back.

It was in thinking this that Raditz felt mildly surprised in feeling Vegeta's ki approaching from afar, along with his father's who he'd spoken with the previous day. In being so elated to see the man again, Raditz had agreed to go with him without even thinking, and now with Vegeta on board they were ready to set off.

"Vegeta! Long time no see! How've you been anyway?" He yelled into the air. The two landed seconds later.

"I've been worse." Answered Vegeta truthfully.

Raditz then turned to address his father. "Are we all ready to go then?"

"Seems that way." Bardock smiled. "We'll leave immediately."

The three pureblood saiyans had already turned their backs and prepared to take flight before a voice cut them off.

"Hold it!" Said Novus.

"Hm?" Bardock turned to the woman.

"I'm coming too. I'm Raditz's sparring partner and if what he told me is true then you'll need all the help you can get."

Bardock, Vegeta and Raditz each turned to each other for a moment. They saw no clear reason why they shouldn't allow her to come; the Prince harboured had an immediate distrust of her upon dying, but after hearing Raditz's story and spending the occasional break with the two of them he now saw her as any other fighter. Bardock gave a shrug to show that as the leader of the mission he had no problem with her presence.

"You know the gravity on this path is supposed to be massive right? You sure you're up to it?" Quizzed Raditz.

"Of course!" She insisted. "It'll be a piece of cake."

"Just make sure you don't slow us down." Vegeta warned her as the four took to the skies.

Novus huffed. "Please; you'll be the one slowing _me _down."

The group flew in perfect synchronism for the next five minutes as Bardock led them across a route they'd never taken before back to the otherworld's check-in station. Upon reaching the giant Yemma's desk Raditz spied the familiar Snake Way to his right, yet to his left another path existed: a narrow, golden path branching off from the road to heaven. Upon closer inspection the saiyan realised that the road quickly widened into a flat plateau that spanned fifty metres wide and stretched out as far as the eye could see.

"Take a good look at around you three, because this is the last you'll be seeing of any civilisation for a while. I've no idea how many months we'll be spending on this road, but know that there's no change in direction or variety of scenery; you'll just have this one road to follow. We can't delay either – every second we waste could be the difference between life and death for your friends."

Raditz gulped as he stared out at the blank, golden-white landscape, coming to the harsh realisation that this barren path would be his home for the next few months – it was enough to drive a man insane, and he felt pity for whichever fighter his dad had sent down there first. But Goku and the others would be counting on him to be there back home; he had to push himself to the very limit in order to get there on time.

"As thrilled as I am about my new home," Vegeta muttered sarcastically. "I can't help but feel like we're missing someone. Didn't the namekian die along with us in the fight against Chronus? I haven't seen him since then. Is he the fighter you sent down this road?"

Bardock simply shook his head, having no idea who the man was that Vegeta spoke of.

"I haven't seen Piccolo since that battle either. He probably went back down to hell in order to do some training or keep the peace." Admitted Raditz sullenly. "I passed dad's words onto King Kai so that he can send him the details. If I know Piccolo he's either already there or he won't be far behind us, and if what dad says is true then we don't have time to wait up for him."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Said Vegeta, and upon the Prince's cynic remark Bardock set off at full speed down the desolate road, joined soon by two saiyans and a Vicis at his heels.

* * *

Present Day

After a day's work of training, Trunks retired to the lounge of his family's estate to put his feet up in reward for his efforts. Despite the demands of a hugely wealthy company demanding his time and attention, the lavender haired fighter had grown out of neglecting his training, and now that he was a little wiser he'd learned to manage his time well. Three days of his week were now spent in training; two of them were shared with his sparring partner Goten whilst the remaining Thursday he used for his own routine, just as he had done today.

He reflected that three days a week was lacklustre when compared to the rigorous schedule of Goku, but then again their saiyan hero had no ties of work to restrict him; training _was _his work – the man's job was to defend the universe.

Once he felt up to moving Trunks wearily groaned himself back to his feet and willed his aching body over to the en-suite bathroom in order to take a much needed shower. The steam and hot water helped in the healing process of the minor cuts and scrapes he'd sustained. He stayed under the delightfully warm waterfall for twenty minutes, reluctant to move until the skin on his fingers began to wrinkle. Feeling much better, Trunks dried up, changed into a soft set of casual clothes and headed for the kitchen until a polyphonic chime from his pocket alerted him of a text. He pulled out his state of the art phone.

_Turn on the TV_. Goten had written.

Trunks raised an eyebrow; it was odd for Goten to text him about anything other than hanging out. Quickly the hybrid saiyan grabbed the remote from the unit, though before he even flipped a button the plasma screen whirred to life to show a view of an empty darkness lit up only by two eyes of a softly glowing red. He recognised them somehow – he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

A deep, prolonged series of breaths hummed through Trunks's surround-sound to make the experience seem even more real than it should've been. Just what the hell was this?

"Greetings, people of the Universe." Said a voice at last. He sounded sinister; snakelike; devilish - like he had some sort of master plan up his sleeve and got some kind of sick satisfaction out watching the people squirm.

Briefly Trunks saw a blink-and-miss view of the creature's fanged teeth as it spoke from its dark abode.

"Greetings, Earth's Special Forces."

Trunks froze. If the voice's first statement had been true then he was broadcasting this to every advanced civilisation in the cosmos, yet his second sentence targeted a handful of earthlings that he was a part of.

"Ohh that's right – I'm talking to you. Son Goku, Prince Vegeta, Son Gohan; any who have stood against evil and tyranny in the past and yet still live to tell the tale." He continued. "It's inevitable that you'll try to stop me just like you do every other martyr of my cause, so to make things interesting I thought I'd introduce a little _fun_ on my behalf. . . Watch closely."

A few moments of complete silence passed before the glowing red eyes suddenly warped out of the camera shot and a presence more powerful than even Chronus's could be felt hovering just outside the Earth's atmosphere. Trunks froze in fear and quickly scanned the room for his upgraded gravity enhancer upon realising that this monster could destroy the Earth with a simple sneeze.

The man feared the worst as the familiar swelling of ki marked the forming of a powerful energy blast. It was fired before any had a chance to react, and despite his strength Trunks doubted even Goku would be able to repel the blast completely. He braced himself for total destruction, though funnily enough it never came. An almighty bang that sounded from far away shook the planet, knocking Trunks's glass of water and remote from his kitchen unit as the almighty roar of the explosion reached its crescendo. He rushed to the window just in time to see the aftermath of a faraway explosion scattering across a small portion of the sky

"You see that, people? Mmm, I just destroyed Mars – _kaboom!_ Just like that."

Trunks turned back to the TV to see that the glowing eyes were back. The energy signal pervading the void of space was gone too; could this thing use Instant Transmission?

"So now you know. . That if I wanted to! I could kill you all right now! – I could've obliterated your precious slab of green rock instead of Mars and you'd all be space dust right now. In fact I probably _should've _done that!"

Trunks gulped as the sound of screams from outside sounded behind him, and just as he'd expected this twisted monster enjoyed every second of it.

"But no, no, no." He sneered. "Where would be the fun in that? Huh? I wouldn't get to make it all personal now would I? Plus I've a whole host of friends who are just _itching _to destroy you themselves – six to be exact. Or is it seven? . . Anyway since there's plenty of you to go around. . ." The man licked his lips in hunger and laughed to himself like a madman. "I don't mind sharing!" He chuckled eventually.

As a simple test Trunks quickly flicked through channels to find the exact same picture on every single one; even the radio frequencies broadcasted his voice. When that didn't work Trunks unplugged the TV from its socket only to realise to his horror that the damn thing still played. For a moment the brewing anger he'd inherited little of from his father tempted him to blast the screen just as Vegeta would've done, but the man wasn't finished just yet.

"Alright alright, so here's how it's going to work." He laughed. "If you get out your precious Dragon Radar you'll notice those little blinking lights are back on, dotted in different directions across the universe. They lead to planets on which I have deployed one of my good friends for you to fight. You approach the planets by ship only and no more than two fighters may dock at a single planet at any one time. I'd advise you to follow my commands or your prized spit of rock will end up just like Mars – no warning; no room for revenge - just total oblivion. . . My cousin Omega was an idiot for being so rash. Me? I like to play with my food."

Trunks's heart skipped a beat as he realised just who this man was. 'Cousin Omega' could only mean one thing – the namekian Dragon Balls had overloaded at last, just like theirs had four years ago, and this monstrosity had been forged out of their wishes. Those eyes were the eyes of an eternal dragon. Trunks shivered as the man begun to laugh, sadistically cackling to no one but himself in his incredible enjoyment of the anarchy he'd caused.

"_Let the games begin!_" He announced, and with that, Trunks's TV flipped off thanks to being completely unplugged. So this was it; the latest threat had shown its face, and for all his power he acted differently from all the other foes he'd faced in his lifetime: he valued fun and games over world domination or destruction.

Without thinking twice Trunks set off at a dash down the corridors of his family's manor. He passed a shaking Bulma as he ran, who from the look of terror stricken across her face must've seen the broadcast as well.

"Trunks, what should I do?" She muttered weakly, still feeling the fright of such a close encounter with evil.

Trunks cast her a sideways glance as he stopped to swiftly throw on his jacket from the hangers. "Find grandpa and get to work on those ships – for now we have no choice but to comply with his demands. I'm going to the Lookout to meet up with the others so we can make some kind of plan."

"Alright." Bulma nodded before handing him the Dragon Radar – _she _sure as hell wouldn't be going into space to retrieve them.

"Don't look so glum. I'll be back before you know it, and plus, a new threat guarantees us one thing at least." He said with a grin.

"What's that?"

"If you could feel that guy's power you'd know it as well as I do – there's no way that dad would miss out on fighting a freak like that. One way or another he'll find his way back, of that I'm sure."

* * *

Author's Notes: _So there you have it folks, the new saga is officially underway with the reintroduction of both Bardock and Novus. The new villain also isn't taking his time showing himself either; I wanted to stray away from the generic villain and just make some sick, sadistic psychopath, which also ties in with the fact of him not destroying Earth when he had the chance (admittedly some Dragon Ball villains don't get this, Frieza, Cell and Buu could've destroyed the Earth and ended their battles at a moment of their choosing. Some have explanations like Frieza wanting to face Goku himself, but sometimes it just seems a bit weird.) Anyway for the new villain some of you might've noticed, but I drew a lot of inspiration from Heath Ledger's fantastic performance as the Joker from The Dark Knight - the character was 100% unique and scared the shit out of me to boot.  
_


	3. Chapter 3 Discuss and Deploy

Chapter 3: Discuss and Deploy

Flying as fast as his ki could carry him, Trunks reached the Lookout within minutes of his setting off to find that Gohan, Goten, Uub, Krillin and Tien had already arrived. Dende calmly strode out of the main building and onto the polished surface accompanied by a scared-as-usual looking Mr. Popo.

"I still can't believe this is all we have left." Said Goten, as if he'd only just realised how slim their numbers had gotten thanks to retirement and death. "It just doesn't seem right without Vegeta or Piccolo here." He then stopped momentarily to look around, scanning his immediate environment with his senses for life forms. He'd expected Goku to be the first here, though he remained late with no sign of him approaching. "Where's Dad?" He asked at last.

Uub sighed and put his hand to his head. "I'll get him." He muttered, and with that he warped away in a flash of the Instant Transmission.

"I asked mom to prepare those ships for us as quickly as possible – I'd give her a week or two tops, but in the meantime we have to figure out some kind of strategy." Said Trunks.

"He's right." Gohan nodded his head and turned to the others, assuming the position of leader in the absence of their fathers. "We've got no choice but to do what that freak says."

"Why's that?" Asked Tien. "Why can't we just wait for them to bring the fight to us instead of giving them the advantage?"

"Because if we wait around he'll just blast the planet from space just like he did to Mars. Anyway you heard him – those new Shadow Dragons want us, not the Earth. The further we are away from here the safer it'll be."

Tien hummed in agreement and the Z-Fighters shared a period of silence until the familiar warp of an Instant Transmission marked Uub's return with an unconscious Goku slung like a dead weight over his shoulder. His clothes were torn and frayed, and his hands appeared burned from blasts of energy; for a moment the others wondered whether he had challenged the new enemy himself before seeing that the injuries were somehow self inflicted – he'd no doubt just trained himself half to death. Uub laid his old mentor on the ground and softly shook him in an attempt to wake him up, and when that didn't succeed even a sudden slap to the face failed to rouse the saiyan.

"Whoa, he's out." Observed Krillin.

"Here." Dende stepped forwards, retrieved a handy senzu bean from his trouser pocket and gave it to Uub, who plopped the life-giving bean into Goku's mouth. A few more moments of awkward silence passed before the saiyan's eyes fluttered open, back into consciousness. He peered out through blurry vision until clarity finally returned and pushed himself back to his feet, nursing a headache with his right hand.

"You doing okay buddy?" Krillin added.

"Yeah, that senzu did the trick. . ." Goku made a noise of sincere confusion as he blinked twice, scanning the group with a vacant expression. "Why is everyone here?"

Groans of exasperation went around the group and the sound of multiple palms slapping against foreheads clapped around the Lookout. Their suspicions were confirmed: Goku had no idea what was going on at all.

Gohan laughed. "You know for once I'm glad that Vegeta and Piccolo aren't here."

"You mean you didn't feel the Earth shake just a few minutes ago when a planet exploded?" Checked Goten.

"A planet exploded? Which one?" Goku only looked even more confused than before as the others sighed once again.

"It's like this Goku: a new enemy has shown himself – it seems like the namekian Dragon Balls have overloaded just like ours did." Said Trunk

"_What?_ That's horrible!" In the blink of an eye Goku went from being a hopeless idiot to his sombre, serious expression as his brow furrowed and his stance tensed up. For another few moments the group enjoyed a silent awkwardness that went with their fearless leader's determined attitude, though the experience was cut short as his face suddenly softened once again and his voice jumped up an octave. "Kind of exciting though don't you think?"

"Oh give me strength. . ." Muttered Tien.

"He's a saiyan." Krillin hissed, sticking up for his oldest friend. "The guy can't help it."

Trunks stepped forwards again, and despite knowing it would be hopeless he tried desperately to explain the graveness of the situation to the saiyan. "Goku, he blew up Mars from space and said we'd be next if we didn't go out into space and fight guys who I'm presuming are the new Shadow Dragons. He said he's got six or seven of them waiting for us and that we can only approach in twos by ship; to make matters worse there's only seven of us here so pairing up is gonna be difficult."

"And not to put a downer on it or anything, but if those things out there are anything like what we felt today then Krillin or I couldn't even lay a finger on them." Admitted Tien, to which Krillin shamefully agreed.

Goku nodded his head and put a finger and a thumb to his chin, recalling something from memory now that his serious face was back on. "Yeah, I remember King Kai telling me that if the namekian Dragon Balls ever overloaded like ours did, then what came out of them would be far worse than Omega Shenron and his gang."

"But why is that?" Asked Gohan, curious. "I mean, what's the difference between them?"

"Well, think about it this way. See, the Dragon Balls of planet Namek are far bigger than the ones over here, so they can store and release much more negative energy than ours can. I guess the wishes we used back when we fought Chronus must've taken their toll on the balls, then whatever wish the namekians used was the final straw."

"So. . ." Uub briefly calculated the difference. "The Dragon Balls of Namek are about four or five times bigger than ours; does that mean these Shadow Dragons are four or five times stronger than the ones we fought before?"

"I'd say it's possible yeah." Goku nodded. "If that's the case then I wouldn't advise challenging them with anything less than a Super Saiyan 5."

Goten sighed in resignation as his shoulders sagged downwards. "Great, so we're basically screwed."

Trunks nodded sadly; the only fighters who seemed to stand a chance were Goku and perhaps Gohan. Uub and Gotenks might've been able to put up a decent fight, but there were no guarantees against opponents of such incredible strength. They needed Vegeta, Raditz and Piccolo, though with the namekian Dragon Balls now apparently out of the picture no way was available to them to restore life. First they had to understand exactly what had happened, and that meant phoning in to the otherworld.

"Dende." Said Gohan, taking the words right out of Trunks's mouth. "Can you set us up a telepathic link with King Kai?"

After looking surprised for a moment, Dende eventually nodded, and closed his eyes as he cast out his senses to the now familiar location of King Kai's home. He concentrated hard in order to establish a connection before linking the group at last with the overseer of their universal quadrant, opening up their minds in a telepathic phone call.

_'King Kai, this is Dende of the Earth speaking with Goku and the others'_. He began.

_'Ah!' _King Kai's flustered and erratic tone suddenly echoed within the minds of the Z-Fighters. _'Good timing – I was just about to call_.'

_'King Kai, do you know anything about what happened on Planet Namek?' _Asked Gohan quickly.

_'Yes, as a matter of fact I just finished investigating the situation. It's a terrible tragedy I'd say.' _Confessed the Kai._  
_

_'Why, what happened?'_

_'You see, the Planet was for a time suspended in a prolonged winter – a snowstorm of sorts, like the one that occurred there many decades ago before any of you were born.'_

_'Yeah I remember hearing about that when I visited as a child.' _Gohan recalled. _'All but the Guru died in the years that passed.'_

_'Indeed.' _Agreed King Kai._ 'Well I guess the namekian people figured the same thing was happening again, so they used the Dragon Balls in order to make it stop. Naturally the balls broke as you saw today. I guess you could say be careful what you wish for!' _King Kai let out a muffled chuckle at the hilarity of his own ironic joke, though as usual none shared his refined sense of humour. He cleared his throat after the awkward silence that followed and proceeded to continue._ 'Anyway I figured something was wrong when Raditz approached me a while back.'_

_'Hang on, you spoke to Raditz?' _Goku's voice suddenly entered the conversation; his curiosity had naturally been piqued upon hearing news of his brother for the first time in years.

_'Yeah, about six months ago – he told me to pass a message onto Piccolo in the underworld to prepare for some new threat or something – it was a while ago now.'_

_'Wait a sec, Raditz told you about a new threat approaching and you didn't tell us?'_ Demanded Trunks. _'We could've prepared for this!'_

_'I didn't know he was talking about the namekian Dragon Balls! I figured it was just some bad guy running loose here in otherworld – I didn't know he meant over on your side!' _Insisted the Kai, feeling immediately guilty for not telling them sooner. Even if he had though, the others quickly realised that it would've changed very little: each of them were training as hard as they could with whatever time they could spare, and after their previous adventure the very thought of using another Room of Spirit and Time to make things easier just seemed like tempting fate.

_'Why is Piccolo back in hell anyway?_' Quizzed Krillin. _'What, does he like it down there or something?'_

_'Beats me; the guy didn't even respond when I relayed Raditz's message – you know I rarely get any thanks around here.''_

Gohan smiled and nodded. _'Thanks for the update anyway King Kai. Just one last thing: Do you know where Raditz is now? I mean if he's got information on this threat then it wouldn't hurt to speak to him.'_

_'Wish I could help you there Gohan but I'm afraid he dropped off the radar just after I spoke to him all those months ago – Vegeta too.'_

Goten appeared confused before voicing the same thoughts shared between everyone present. _'What, they just disappeared? How come you can't locate them? You're the Kai aren't you? What happened to being overseer of the universe?'_

_'That's a quarter of the universe. And anyway it puzzles me just as much as it does you guys; they're definitely not around here in otherworld. I always figured they just got wished back by you guys, but apparently that's not the case.'_

_'No. . ._' Gohan reflected. This whole situation puzzled him: why was his old mentor Piccolo back down in hell? And where in the world had Raditz and Vegeta disappeared to? Try as he might the intelligent man could only think of one explanation for them vanishing so suddenly: they had killed each other, either from an argument or an accident during training. He didn't like to believe that two of the most powerful fighters had wiped one another out of existence, but it was the only idea that made any sense. He kept his mouth shut out of fear of upsetting his dad or Trunks, though he'd been left with much to ponder over.

_'Anyway, thanks again. See you later King Kai.' _He concluded.

_'Alright, bye now'_

* * *

Vegeta raced ahead along the barren stretch of road that comprised the path to the Gates of Life, just as he had been doing for the last six months of his existence with little stoppage or delay. A few miles behind him Bardock tailed, followed closely by Raditz and Novus. What Raditz had mentioned earlier played over in his mind: it was easy for a man to go insane out here. With no change in scenery for six months and only an endless road to follow, the monotony had sunk in within only days, and by now flying across had become borderline self-abusive.

Sleeping had become a problem, not least because of the flat, hard and uncomfortable rough surface, but also because of the fact that when one woke up it was often difficult to tell which way they were supposed to go due to both directions looking exactly the same. They'd managed to combat this by pointing their boots in the right direction after taking them off, but the mind often played tricks on them and made them doubt their own intellect.

The gravity here would fluctuate between one hundred times the Earth's natural gravity on a good day to six or seven hundred on a bad one. It was a kick in the teeth for Vegeta's strict regime which normally demanded he stay in one constant state so that his body could adjust. Still though, the change in atmosphere helped him prepare for all kinds of intensities; in actuality the shifts of the gravity reminded him of his battle against Duodecimus, a battle that had been difficult to say the least.

Just as usual he raced along the golden path as fast as was saiyanly possible. Still the road ahead carried on for as far as the eye could see with no end in sight, though Bardock had assured them that they'd begun to reach the Gates, and that they would be no longer than another month in here. A month in here however felt like ten years; with nothing else to do except fly in a straight line for eighteen hours of every day, boredom was an understatement when describing such a painful ordeal.

It was for this reason that Vegeta believed himself to be hallucinating when he saw a small flicker of light flash out of the corner of his eye. Quickly he jerked his head in its direction only to find it gone, though a half-second later he experienced what felt like a ferocious, perfectly connected kick slamming him in the chest, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing to the road below.

He hit the ground hard and rolled several times before slowing to a stop, and once he'd done so the Prince leapt back up to his feet, surveying the area for power levels. His eyes wandered the empty road and the skies above it as his mind scoped the air frantically, all to no avail.

_What the hell was that? _He wondered to himself. Had it been nothing? Was he really so bored and worn out that his saiyan bloodlust had simply _imagined _someone attacking him? Upon second thoughts he realised it was entirely possible; these three years had been the longest he'd ever gone without a sparring partner or some present competition – could he really have missed it that much? _But I was sure of it! _He reminded himself. Another full two minutes passed when no adversary showed its face.

Vegeta blinked only to find that his vision was suddenly washed over by a dim shade of fading pink. He rubbed his eyes, getting rid of the coloured lens immediately and blinking back into clarity. _Guess that settles it I suppose._ He deemed. _Guess I'm just tired. _Vegeta lamented that he _really _needed to get back into action soon or he'd grow rusty. He heard the swish of a distant flight as Bardock began to catch up, and within moments his rival's father had reached him, stopping to check up on the Prince.

"Vegeta, you alright? It's not like you to stop." He commented, hovering in static some five metres above.

"Yeah." Vegeta replied. He considered asking for a break in order to prevent anything like what he'd just experienced from occurring again, but with the man looking so much like Kakarot he'd be damned if he showed any sign of weakness in front of him. "Come on." He ordered.

With that, the Prince launched himself back into the air and took the lead down the never-ending road once again, silently praying that such an event didn't happen again with Bardock right on his tail.

* * *

Two Weeks Later

"Alright, so let's go through it one more time." Said Trunks.

Goku sat and listened, only half paying attention as the son of his greatest rival went over the groupings for good measure. His thoughts fell to the recording the fighters had played him a fortnight ago of their newest enemy revealing himself to the world.

He knew that they'd never faced a threat like this before and that with the limited amount of warriors they could spare all seemed lost if his predictions of their power had been true. He wondered whether or not he'd be seeing Vegeta, Raditz or Piccolo in this battle; he'd sworn on the day of their deaths to bring them back somehow, but with the namekian Dragon Balls now gone he had no knowledge of any way to do so. He hoped they'd be there; to see them again before he died himself would make him happy beyond measure, but inside he wondered whether it would truly be the case.

"We'll fly out with four ships in two-man squads all save one towards the Dragon Balls." Reiterated Trunks, snapping Goku back into reality as his plan continued and Gohan stepped up to resume, pacing the small circle of the Lookout that the seven now inhabited.

"The first is a no-brainer: Trunks and Goten – that bastard conveniently set the limit as two, which means fusion at least is on the cards, and you two are the strongest candidates we have. Hopefully you'll be able to take out at least one of them."

Goten nodded, with Trunks taking over detailing the plan. Six pairs of eyes immediately fell to him. "Secondly we've got Uub and Tien: You guys train together and we've seen firstahand how good a team you can be. And from what we saw with his fight against Chronus I know Uub's gotten a hell of a lot stronger."

Uub smiled to himself, knowing that even over these three short years he'd gotten even more powerful: powerful enough, he hoped, to take on one of the new Shadow Dragons.

"Thirdly it's me and Krillin – it'll be just like old times huh buddy?" Said Gohan.

Krillin smiled. "You said it Gohan." He added. Despite knowing he was amongst the weakest of the group and wouldn't stand a hope in hell of taking on a Shadow Dragon, the bald headed ex-monk didn't seem to fear the idea of death after enduring it four times – in fact the idea of another Grand Tour that he got to be a part of excited him.

"And finally. . ." Gohan's eyes turned to his father. "Dad, are you sure about going out there all by yourself?"

"Hey you know me!" Goku laughed.

"I know I know," Gohan sighed in resignation. "If there's anyone capable of going out alone then it'd be you; I just worry is all. You always seem to find yourself right in the middle of everything, and if we're not there when things get ugly you could be in trouble."

"Don't worry about it Gohan." Reassured the saiyan. His warm, caring smile never failed to put his son's mind at ease – that much at least had never changed. "I'll be fine! Seriously!" He insisted.

"Well if you're sure then okay. . ." Gohan paused before continuing. "C'mon, let's go and check up on the ships."

A chorus of agreement sounded around the group before Gohan led the group to the edge of the Lookout and dropped off the side without hesitation. The group fell in freefall for several miles before suddenly flaring out a burst of ki and rocketing towards Capsule Corporation. The group flew slowly in comparison to their maximum speeds, as the presence of Krillin and Tien meant that going flat-out would leave them behind.

"Mom said the ships would be finished by now!" Voiced Trunks, catching up to the group and falling into the formation. "So we should be able to set off pretty soon."

"Good – the quicker we leave the safer Earth will be. I don't like the idea of us hanging around on a planet so vulnerable when _we're _that guy's targets." Called Uub.

The seven soared through a layer of clouds to a magnificent view of the landscape rushing by beneath them, teeming with life as thousands of cars flew by between the maze of skyscrapers. Up ahead Trunks was the first to spot his home and workplace of Capsule Corporation, and so veered towards it, taking the lead as the others followed him in flight. After whizzing over a series of buildings the fighters landed at last on the broad stretch of land that was the company's front porch.

After flying for the distance, all save for Goku, Krillin and Tien took a moment to let their hair flatten to its natural shape whilst straightening their clothes that were ruffled and creased from the upper currents as they'd flown through the city. Trunks checked his pockets to make sure his wallet and phone still remained. Almost immediately, Bulma's gracefully aging father stepped out of the main entrance to greet a host of familiar faces. He spoke merrily as he led the group around the back of the enormous building towards a fenced off area, seemingly apathetic to the fact that he'd spent the last two weeks working himself dangerously close to an early grave.

"Thanks for doing all this Dr. Briefs." Said Gohan. "I know it's been really short notice and all but we really appreciate all the help."

"Not to worry my boy – it's actually been good to work again. Still, thank Bulma instead - this is all mostly her doing." He insisted.

Gohan nodded. "Even so, it can't have been easy."

"Hell of a lot easier than what you guys are about to do I'd wager. I'm just glad I can help in any way."

"Not to sound too rash grandpa, but do you know when they'll be finished?" Asked Trunks. "I mean mom said we should come back today an-"

"One more night should just about do it son, then you can set off whenever and I can get back to retirement."

"That's great!" Exclaimed Goku.

"Ah, here we are."

The scientist led the group through a modest gate to an open clearing complete with seven gleaming, newly polished ships all set up and almost ready to go. The design was the same as Capsule Corporation's previous work on the ships the crew had used to tour the universe for Dragon Balls last time, yet they seemed somehow sleeker and more spacious. As usual they were spherical in design; a large dome shape that was comprised of a cockpit for the upper deck and living quarters for the lower. Clearly they'd been updated with the latest technology, and so would be much faster and more reliable than their elder brethren.

Trunks admired the appealing new aesthetic, coming as a reflective silver washed over at the base with a hard black, along with orange stilts that would be used for landing. The Capsule Corporation logo was emblazoned on the ships' exteriors, and it was in observing the closest one to him that Trunks was suddenly surprised as the curved double C swung open as a door.

Bulma stepped out, descending the stairs that automatically folded down to the floor.

"Hey Bulma!" Goku called over. "Long time no see."

Bulma folded her arms in disappointment, strolling over to the group. "And whose fault is _that _I wonder?" She snapped.

"Uhh. . ." Bashfully the saiyan put a hand to the back of his head and smiled nervously - the smile that it was impossible to stay mad at for long. "Well, you know. ." He reasoned. "I've been training and stuff. Time flies really!"

"Yeah well," the woman sighed briefly. "If Vegeta were here I know he'd approve, so I'll let you off the hook for now. Anyway there's some stuff you guys need to know about the new ships so listen up."

The group leaned closer in interest, giving the woman permission to flaunt her genius.

"I gave each of them a fully equipped training room on the upper floor that I modelled after Vegeta's own. Like your gravity enhancers you can set the intensity anywhere between one and a thousand, and it's got a fully functioning computer built into it that'll let you bring up all kinds of simulations."

The excited noises of wonder that chorused around the group let Bulma know that she'd succeeded; they were like a bunch of kids who'd just gotten a new toy on Christmas day – to her it was adorable. "The inside and the shell are also made up of the same material that I built Vegeta's arm from, so they'll withstand pretty much anything that either you or the bad guys can throw at them. But that _doesn't _mean you can go flying them into an asteroid field or crash them straight into your enemies."

Trunks nodded, noting that had she not warned them, Goten or Goku might do just that.

"Lastly, the ships are all directly connected to the Dragon Radar back here, making it easy to plot your course. It automatically updates every few minutes too, so you'll know if they change location."

"So these things effectively have a built-in Dragon Radar? All of them?" Checked Uub.

Bulma nodded her head to confirm the majin's statement. "You just pick one from the screen and it'll automatically set you on a course for it."

"Neat!"

The woman smiled. "C'mon. I'll show you around."

Bulma led the crew back into the nearest ship, climbing the stairs that had automatically folded out for her. The crew marvelled at the sleek new design that the interior had taken on; smooth walls coated with a glossy finish made up a homely upper deck as a feminine, robotic voice droned in through the speakers to greet them. It addressed each of them by name, clearly having some kind of analyser to identify the fighters along with containing a full profile on each of them.

Krillin trotted over to the main computer with Bulma in tow as she tapped a single finger to a screen that suddenly flashed to life upon her touch, displaying the Dragon Radar which now identified seven flashing dots branching away from the Earth. She explained that tapping any one of them would set a course and that a simple red button by the manual controls would start the engines, meaning that even someone as out of touch with technology as Goku would be able to manage it.

After showing them the controls to the artificial gravity machine the woman then led the group downstairs to a luxurious bedroom along with its en-suite bathroom. She then showed them the lounge, and after seeing the presence of a huge TV screen Gohan was about to tell her they wouldn't need one before she revealed its true purpose. She flipped it on to reveal a huge screen displaying six numbers, each corresponding to the different ships that would be flying simultaneously.

Tapping one of the numbers filled the screen with a display of a room identical to their own, only without the nine people crowding it. Using this device, the crew could call each other and Bulma at any time of their choosing or engage in a kind of conference call that linked all of them in order to discuss strategies and destinations.

"Wow, this really is something Bulma!" Goku complimented, eager to get back in his friend's good books. Even regardless of that he was still amazed by the amount of effort that must've gone into these in such a short amount of time. In many ways, Bulma's strict regiment and amount of effort she put in into her work was equal to his own.

"Yeah, you've really outdone yourself this time." Goten agreed.

"Why thank you," Bulma said, showing not even a hint of modesty. "You know it's not every day that you get such a mix of brains and beauty. I really should-"

The blue haired scientist's flaunting was suddenly halted as the enormous screen went dead. She gave a look of confusion which turned to embarrassment as she realised something must've gone wrong.

"Oops. Here, let me fix this." She said, retrieving a handy screwdriver from her back pocket until Gohan cut her off.

"Don't bother. I'm not sure there's anything wrong with your screen."

Trunks met his gaze and nodded, showing that he too must've had some inclination as to what happened. The remaining five exchanged looks of confusion before the television suddenly changed to a different shade of black, illuminated only by a set of angular eyes glowing a fearsome red: He was back.

"Me again!" That sinister, sneering voice suddenly rang through the speakers. This time though, he was different; he still clearly took enjoyment out of broadcasting to the entire Earth and terrifying everyone with just his presence, yet this time there was a hint of frustration in his voice – a seething anger behind an erratic, manipulative façade. Seeing a mere recording was bad enough, but in witnessing the broadcast firsthand this new foe's persona immediately succeeded in sending chills running down Goku's spine. He breathed in rapid, almost panicky breaths and his tone often lingered on a single word before continuing

"You know. . . I'm beginning to wonder if you guys even got my message! I've been bored waiting up here for ages and you guys still haven't left that pathetic spit of land that you call a planet."

Goku growled in irritation at the man's insult to the Earth.

"Are you too lazy to come out and play? Hmm? Or do I scare you that much that you don't want to?" The fiend allowed himself a quiet snigger before continuing. "Alright alright, you know what? I'm feeling forgiving today so I'll make you guys a deal. You've got three days; if I don't see you guys out in space by three days then I blow up your sun and watch you all die a slow and torturous death. . . And I'll make sure to enjoy it."

Bulma let out a gasp.

"Now come on boys. . ." He said, seemingly trying to relate to and truly communicate with the Z-Fighters, like a good friend trying to coax them into something wrong. "Throw me a bone here! – Wouldn't it be more interesting for you guys just to come out here and tumble with my friends? Hmm? I know that saiyan blood must be itching for some real action after not seeing it in so many years. . . Isn't that right, Goku?"

Despite having no way to gain a reply or even know he was listening, this monster clearly gained immense satisfaction in knowing that he'd hit the nail right on the head. Goku's heart skipped a beat as the others cast him nervous looks of apprehension.

"Don't disappoint me." He cautioned, pointing a clawed finger of warning to the screen. "Heh. . . I'll be waiting!"

With that, the screen faded to black again before being promptly replaced by the previous view of the neighbouring ship. The crew were left with a few moments of silence until Goten warily broke it.

"Guess that settles it – we're setting out first thing tomorrow right?"

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: _Heheheheh. . . 'Saiyanly possible'. . . I am SO copyrighting that_ XD

_Anyway, again I hope you enjoyed. What IS Piccolo doing in hell? Find out next time! . . Maybe! - I haven't actually decided when it's gonna be yet, maybe in the chapter after. _

_But I can tell you this for certain: this new saga is gonna have its first action scene in the next chapter, so don't miss out! To make things better_, _I will offer like, £1,000,000 to whoever can guess the two combatants (well not really) - it's just that ridiculously impossible to predict. See you soon!_

_Oh and frequent readers will know that I occasionally plug certain films or TV series, so here's another: GO AND WATCH SUCKER PUNCH! Saw it yesterday - incredible film. There's bits in it that REALLY reminded me of DBZ :D  
_


	4. Chapter 4 New Ally, New Foe

Chapter 4: New Ally, New Foe

A single man stood atop a bleak, barren cliff face, looking down on the simple planet with an air of contempt about him. After crossing the immensely difficult path to the Gates of Life he'd spent a number of weeks out here, trying to get back in touch with reality as he waited desperately for Bardock and the others to show. He'd spent eight months in that hellish nightmare that masqueraded as a holy road, and by Bardock's reckoning they wouldn't be far behind, so he'd prepared for their arrival.

As Bardock had foreseen, the Gates of Life had opened up to a random location in the universe; it was a planet that he recognised right away, and had spent days trying to pin down why before it finally hit him. Along with a few other saiyans, he'd conquered this planet years ago in the name of that purple bastard Freiza. In the aftermath of the chaos they wreaked, Frieza's men had taken it over and killed every inhabitant, though they'd fled to the far reaches of space years ago once Bardock's son had miraculously dispatched of the fiend.

Nothing lived aside from a handful of fish swimming in the planet's red water and a few boar-like, alien predators hid in the occasional patches of bluish grass that came all the way up to the man's elbows. He'd lived off them for a while, finding that the meat they produced was very edible, and so was the water despite its sickly outlook.

Upon arriving he'd scoured the planet for days until finally he'd found a small settlement that he and his crew had once used as a base whilst they took over the planet, and from this he'd retrieved six saiyan space pods and fixed them back into working order. He now waited outside the swirling, writhing portal that led back to the Gates, but he'd be damned if he ever entered it again. Here he'd wait for the others as he and Bardock had agreed whilst making sure that nothing hindered their progress.

The man was of a sizeable stature; tall enough to look imposing at a glance with his oversized muscles bulging through his saiyan armour enhancing this effect. His armour, whilst being the traditional saiyan battle suit, had been modified to suit his position; the shade of the stomach and shoulder plates were a peach-like orange, whilst his under-shirt and pants remained a charcoal black. A royal cape, pinned on by three studs on his chestplate, blew with the carefree breeze, alternating between the inner shade of red and the outer blue, with his boots being of the same colour.

He wore his hair as a brown tsunami of countless spikes, arching down his forehead to form a distinct widow's peak at a spot just above his constantly creasing frown. A thick goatee also sprouted from his face if only to make the man appear even more threatening, for this was King Vegeta, ruler of the saiyan race.

When Bardock had approached him with his crazy story, the King had dismissed him as clearly insane, but upon witnessing the incredible deeds of the man's son from the afterlife and seeing the new road for himself, the man's tale had become more convincing. Bardock had promised him that he'd be able to see his son again very soon, and even meet his family if he ever made it to the other side. This had spurred the King on, for in light of Kakarot's incredible display of courage and power he'd come to the realisation that the saiyans could be so much more than just conscienceless killers. They were a warrior race, and there'd be no changing that for as long as they still existed, but servitude to another was simply not a part of their natural instinct.

To say he'd learned a few new tricks in the afterlife would be an understatement to say the least. He'd grown powerful since his death all those many years ago, and now with life finally within his grasp once again he was eager to use it. Just as was the case with his new ally Bardock, King Vegeta had found that the younger generation had always just been one step ahead of them – his son wielded power beyond his wildest dreams, but he'd thought that for years, and whenever it seemed like he was catching up the Prince would attain a new plateau of unfathomable strength.

Rather than experience the natural saiyan response of bitterness and jealousy however, King Vegeta felt pride at his son and the legacy that he and his friends had made for the saiyan race. They'd accomplished so much more in just over four decades than those before them had accomplished in generations, and for this the King was happy beyond all measure.

Like Bardock he was eager to be a part of this battle, especially after hearing that it would be the greatest war of their time. He deemed that even to die once again in this fight would be a great honour, and so he did his best to assist whenever possible. He'd started already by utilising one of his greatest new skills: thanks to the power he'd gained from transformations, the King's greatest weapon now lay in his incredible senses - not only was he sharp as a falcon when it came to fights, but his sensory range had expanded to the point where he practically felt the whole universe when he concentrated hard enough.

He'd learned quickly that Kakarot, his grandson and their friends had congregated on Planet Earth and would be setting off shortly following the destruction of a neighbouring planet by a powerful force he presumed to be their new enemy. He sensed multiple life forms of incredible strength scattered evenly around the cosmos as he waited patiently for the others to arrive, and since then he'd not felt much of anything within his immediate vicinity. That was, until now.

As sharp as ever, King Vegeta noticed even when the source was miles away that a horrible, destructive force was approaching the planet he now stood upon. He deemed quickly that it must've been one of these new enemies that had been scattered across the universe and turned his attention to it immediately. It was powerful of course; more powerful perhaps than himself. If that was the case then he'd just have to hold out long enough for the others to arrive. But this fiend's strength wasn't what bothered him at all; what truly unnerved King Vegeta was a horrible realisation that slowly dawned upon him the closer the signal got.

This was a saiyan power he felt.

* * *

At first light of the day following the Dragon's second appearance, the Z-Fighters met at the now familiar back yard of Capsule Corporation, where seven gleaming new ships sat simply begging to be used. They'd be using only four of course, though the three remaining would be left as backups or spares should any of them break down, or if luck should have it, that more fighters arrived on the scene. Dr. Briefs and Bulma were there already, knowing that the group would settle for nothing less than heading off right away.

Trunks headed over to his mother and signalled for Goten to meet them inside their own ship: Capsule 3. She looked sad - scared of losing another family member. Trunks knew that the possibility was very real, though he never told her that out of fear of upsetting the woman. However, where there was dishonesty, there was also complete sincerity on behalf of the lavender haired saiyan.

"Mom, don't worry about me okay? I know this might sound crazy but my gut tells me that this fight is what brings dad back to us. You know him better than anyone – the guy can't resist a powerful opponent. We've never faced an adversary without him and he'll be damned if he lets us start here. So you make sure you look after those ships for when he and Raditz get here, and Goten and I will be sure to stay alive. Deal?"

Bulma smiled, her tears now fully regressed with her son's speech of comfort. "Deal."

Trunks nodded and gave a final goodbye before heading for Capsule 3 as the automated stairs closed shut like a portcullis for all the surrounding ships. He met Goten at the ship's entrance before making his way through it and down the stairs, finding that a call was already incoming from Capsule 2. Goten tapped the screen once to accept the call, finding that Gohan and Krillin now occupied one segment of the screen with the other two still unresponsive.

Ten seconds passed until the inhabitants of the two remaining ships managed to figure out how to work the simple machine. Capsule 4's lounge suddenly came into view, containing Uub and Tien, followed by Capsule 1. Goku was still tapping the screen awkwardly for a few moments before Uub yelled at him that he'd got it working already. The seven resumed their positions on the luxurious sofas.

"Alright, we need to head off in different directions so that we're not going after the same ball." Said Gohan, who then looked up to address the complex supercomputer running the place. "Dragon Radar please!"

In the blink of an eye the Dragon Radar suddenly appeared within a blank quadrant of the screen to display the familiar sight of flashing lights. Just as they'd expected, the Balls were dispersed equally across the galaxy, though Goku immediately noticed something else; something he hadn't seen until now. Five of the Dragon Balls were stationary, and had formed a convenient five pointed star with its corners posted lightyears away in every direction from planet Earth. One other Dragon Ball was on the move, heading left across the bottom of their screen towards a planet unknown to any of them. The last one on the other hand was simply nowhere to be seen.

"Figures – the One Star ball is missing." Trunks calculated, deducing it from the others. "Remember back to our Dragon Balls? Syn Shenron was the leader and the most powerful of all of them, and he was the one star ball. I'm willing to bet that it's whoever keeps talking to our planet; he's staying safe – playing the king whilst his pawns do all the work."

"But I don't get it." Figured Tien. "Two weeks ago we could see all seven of them. Where did it go?"

"Wherever it is, it's in hiding somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't come out until all the rest are dead."

"And even _that_'ll take a miracle." Said Krillin

From Krillin's left side, the group laughed as Gohan smirked before raising his open palm and slapping the man on the back of his bald head.

"Don't talk like that!" He chastised, still grinning as Krillin nursed his head. "This is going to work!" He reassured. If this situation needed anything it was a little humour and laughter, and he received it in spades from his audience of five.

"Alright alright! Geez, you didn't have to hit me so hard!"

"Well have a little faith. Anyway we need to decide which ones we're going after."

"Oh – Oh – Can I-" Goku began

"Yes dad, you can take the four star ball if you want." Gohan sighed.

"Yippee!"

"The one star is gone and the three star is on the move, so Krillin and I will go after the two star ball." He continued.

"Leave the five star to us then." Confirmed Trunks. "Tien, Uub; you guys okay taking the six star?"

"You got it Trunks." Uub nodded his head and looked closer at the map. "And whoever finishes their fight first-"

"-Or gets killed." Krillin interjected, resulting in more laughter from the group as Gohan slapped him once again.

"The first person to finish their fight, contact the others, and if you're able, then we'll give consent to go after the seven star ball." Uub concluded.

"Right!" Came the chorus of voices.

With that, the pairs each hopped up from their seats as the call was brought to a close. They headed up the ladders and made their way to the main entrance, tapping the appropriate star of their designated Dragon Ball before taking one last look at the planet Earth. They knew they'd be out in space for months, and if the Shadow Dragons had their way then they'd never see it again. Just one last time they had to appreciate its beauty; its sense of homeliness that could never be rivalled by any other planet. Trunks knew that even his father, who was born and raised on a completely different world, had a soft spot for this place in that chilled icebox he called a heart, and he'd do anything to protect it.

Krillin let out a long sigh of relief, savouring one last look at the sky and sparing a nod Bulma, who waved goodbye to each of them through the reinforced windows of their ships. "I sure hope you know you're doing with this." He muttered.

"Yeah. . ." Gohan muttered. "So do I. . ." He took one last breath before taking a seat and strapping himself in for the inevitable rocky takeoff. "Punch it." He ordered.

Krillin slapped his hand down on the primed and ready ignition button before dashing quickly to his seat as the engines below began to rumble. The ground beneath them shook and heated up with the blaze of the four jets of flame flaring out into full force. After ten seconds they set off, slowly at first before quickly rising at a force so powerful that Gohan felt himself being dragged down further into his seat.

Out of the open window the pair glimpsed Trunks and Goten also departing, and quickly they blasted through a stream of cloud cover and out of sight, with their ship sending them off in a completely different direction towards the five star ball many lightyears away. Once the ship passed through the bumpy patch of the planet's atmosphere, the effect seemed to lessen drastically thanks to the much lighter gravity in space giving the ship more freedom. Immediately the fasten seatbelts sign that illuminated the roof of the gravity machine flipped off, allowing the two to stand up and stretch out, preparing for a brief training session to get them back in form.

"You ready for this?" Asked Gohan, throwing off his family's signature gi to bare his battle suit of the Kais.

"Oh you bet." Krillin said, widening his feet and bracing himself into a powering up position. Immediately a blueish aura flared out from him as his power ascended far past its regular limits that Gohan had known him for. Now that he was back in a younger body, Krillin now packed all the power he had in his prime along with a boost from Shenron, all in addition to the experience and tact his older self harboured. "I'm gonna have to go all out to keep up with just the least you can do!"

"Well I'll tell you what," Gohan laughed, walking over to the gravity machine as Krillin continued to scorch the tiles beneath him. "How about I make it a little more challenging?" Like the timer dial on a microwave, Gohan turned the knob of the gravity machine only slightly as the digits flared by, all the way up to fifty times the Earth's natural gravity. He saw Krillin's face contort into a painful grimace as the effects began to take their toll.

"That all you got?" Taunted Krillin through the blazing surge of his own energy. "And here I've still got more power."

"Well alright then." Gohan figured. He turned it again, all the way up to one hundred times as Krillin pushed his ki to its absolute maximum and fell into stance, still standing despite the gravity.

"That's more like it." He said. "Don't hold back too much – I don't wanna end up _completely_ useless in this battle.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. You ready?" Gohan fell into his own fighting stance and prepared to ascend into the first level of his ultimate form before the distinct sound of a phone rang through the surrounding speakers. Krillin powered down and looked around as Gohan set the gravity back down to normal.

"And we were just getting started too – you know I was kinda looking forward to that." Noted Krillin.

"Yeah," Gohan nodded. "But we _just _set off. Who could be calling us?"

"Beats me. Let's go check."

"Right."

The two made their way back down the ladders once again and looked around to see that the enormous plasma screen had lit up with a green phone icon that sent high pitched rings all throughout the ship. It was labelled Capsule 1: Goku's ship.

"Wonder what dad wants?" Mused Gohan. After shrugging at one another the two walked over to the screen and Krillin hesitantly tapped the icon, revealing live video footage of Goku sat upon an identical sofa to the one in their own place, stricken with that nervous look he sported when tackling a difficult situation.

"Hey Goku – what's up?" Asked Krillin.

"Well. . . We've got a bit of a problem on board." He revealed, his voice rising in pitch as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Is something up with your ship? Why didn't you call Bulma?" Said Gohan.

"No, it's nothing to do with the ship. . ." He looked off his left anxiously, causing Gohan and Krillin to lean in closer out of interest before a face suddenly jumped in front of the camera, taking up the full screen and making the pair hop back in sudden fright.

"Boo!"

The figure hopped away from the camera and glided back into the seat next to Goku. Of course, it was Pan. She was clad in a pair of simple cargo shorts and a matching t-shirt to go with the bandanna she constantly wore over her hair that flowed down to the back of her neck. At first, Krillin didn't recognise the girl at all; he hadn't seen her in years and she'd practically matured into a grown woman over the three years since the Grand Tour. She was much taller now, spanning up to her grandfather's collarbone and packing more muscle, kept tactfully to a minimum to avoid scaring off potential boyfriends.

"Pan! What are you doing there?" Cried Gohan.

"She must've just snuck aboard again Gohan." Goku held up his hands in apology. "I'm sorry – I should've seen her really."

"Well take her back home right now! She can't be involved in this!" Demanded the girl's father.

"I keep trying but she keeps getting away! I knew teaching her Instant Transmission was a bad idea!"

"You taught her Instant Transmission? Since when? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"A year or two ago maybe?" Goku said, asking no one but himself and letting his eyes roll to the roof. "And I didn't think it was important! She just asked me how it was done and I showed her!" He insisted.

"You know Gohan." Krillin muttered, loud enough so that only the man sat beside him could hear. "Am I sensing a little resentment there? If I recall you always wanted to learn Instant Transmission and-"

"That's got nothing to do with it!" Cried Gohan. He grabbed handfuls of his hair and hung his head in dismay – it seemed like everyone was against him, and he knew that getting through to his daughter was like talking to a brick wall. "Look Pan, it's dangerous out there." He reasoned. "I just don't want you to get hurt is all! Now go back home, your mother's gonna be fuming!"

"No!" Said Pan. "I'm nineteen now and I'm a grown adult! I'll make my own choices thank you very much, and I wanna come on this mission. You completely left me out of the last one so I'm just making up for lost time."

"You're too young." Gohan sighed; even before Pan replied he knew exactly what she would say. It was the argument she'd used a hundred times before, and she was right to an extent – it _was _rather hypocritical of him.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forget, _how old _were you again when you fought the saiyans?"

"Five. . ." Groaned the man wearily.

"Exactly: Five! And now I'm nineteen, and _I'm _too young?"

"Listen Pan, these things are on a whole other level – you're talking about a mountain compared to an anthill."

"But I can turn into a Super Saiyan now!" She revealed, making her grandfather's face warp into one of shock.

"I know honey, and like I said, I'm _very _proud of you. But your grandpa can go up to Super Saiyan 5 and even _he _isn't sure whether he can take on these things."

"Well that's a risk I'm willing to take. I'm going on this mission whether you like it or not, and grandpa's the only one without a partner anyway."

Gohan breathed a prolonged sigh as his hand met his forehead. There was little he could do in this situation – they were miles away by now and heading in completely separate directions, and he could hardly ask his dad to just turn around and land. If he did she'd just sneak aboard another ship and fly off all by herself, and if she insisted on flying out with them there'd be no one she'd be safer with than Goku. Gohan's motives were sincere enough; as his little girl he simply didn't want her to be hurt, but she had saiyan blood in her after all - he'd been holding her back for too long.

"Alright. . ." He muttered at last.

Suddenly the speakers erupted in cheer as Pan jumped up and down and begun flying around the entire ship. Goku still looked nervous, as though he was about to feel the wrath of his son purely through a TV screen, though he'd given up trying to argue. If she knew Instant Transmission there was nothing he could do to stop her.

"Dad." Gohan leaned in closer to the camera, keeping his voice down as to not alert the cheering Pan.

"I know Gohan. I'll keep her safe." Goku reassured.

"Something tells me we've all got a role to play in this war whether we like it or not. Just make sure she stays away from those Shadow Dragons; I've a feeling these guys won't be such pushovers as the last bunch."

"I promise Gohan, she won't come within a hundred miles of them." He swore.

"Then that's all I can ask for. Thanks Dad."

Goku smiled and nodded in understanding as Gohan took his cue to disengage the connection. The hybrid sighed again, wondering whether or not he'd made a huge mistake in letting her go and dreading the moment that would inevitably come within the next few hours, where the screen would ring again with a call from Bulma, joined by a furious Videl.

"Hey." Krillin slapped a hand on his shoulder. "You really handled that well you know. You've grown a lot."

Gohan smiled, seeing a potential joke that Krillin had walked right into. "You know I'd say the same thing to you, but that would just be funny."

"Alright that's it! Training time!" Called the man. Gohan barely had time to throw up his defences before a powerful punch came crashing into his guard, marking the very first attack of millions in their strict regime of training.

* * *

The last two weeks had been hell for the saiyan Prince, just as the previous twenty five before that had been. As usual he raced along the golden road in a straight line with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him. He'd since forgotten about his incident of bloodlust and had dismissed it as nothing, but since that time this place had been made even worse by the nightmares he suffered.

For the last fortnight Vegeta's sleep had been troubled by barbaric, vicious nightmares that evoked a sense of fear more intense than any enemy he'd faced. The worst part was that he remembered next to nothing of these vivid hallucinations, and they constantly woke him after only a few hours of slumber, with him usually being too disturbed by the experience to get back to sleep.

As such the saiyan was left drowsy and tired as soon as he got up, and the fatigue returned hours prematurely. Out of these six months he'd never ever been the one to actually suggest stopping for sleep – his pride would never allow it, but at times now he wished for it as much as possible, and was left counting down the seconds until Novus or Bardock suggested catching a little shut-eye.

It was in one of these very moments on the brink of collapse that the Prince suddenly felt a flicker on the horizon. At first he dreaded the same presence that had assaulted him before and so slapped himself to make sure his mind didn't play tricks on him, but it was there alright. Somewhere in the distance he could feel a number of strong powers. What bugged him the most though, was that he'd felt each of them before.

At different points in his life he'd come across these energies, yet he'd experienced them either too briefly or too long ago to put a name or a face to even one of them.

He squinted upon seeing something up ahead. He thought his eyes had deceived him, like a parched soul seeing an oasis in the desert, but this was real after all. Closer inspection proved to him beyond any doubt that what he saw was true – the Gates of Life lay up ahead in the distance. Grand, imposing gates comprised of a gold and silver framework towered hundreds of thousands of metres into the sky, coupled with one of the familiar powers he'd felt guarding the entrance. Despite his weariness he prayed for a fight, or at least some kind of confrontation with this incredible power. On the other hand the holy aura radiating from this being's power told him that this would not be the case.

"Vegeta!"

Bardock suddenly appeared behind the saiyan, powering up into a respectable Super Saiyan 2 in order to catch up, and for a moment Vegeta mistook him for Kakarot once again.

"We're close!" Bardock added. "But I just had another vision – something evil is coming! We have to get there fast; we've only got about half an hour."

As Raditz and Novus closed in behind, Vegeta shook his head violently in an attempt to rid himself of his fatigue. A fight was on the way; he had to prepare himself and snap out of his drowsy stupor. With a groan he pushed himself up to the Super Saiyan 3, causing Bardock and Raditz to follow his lead.

"Make it fifteen minutes!" He insisted.

With that, the four fighters upped the acceleration of their already impressive speed and rocketed along the golden road faster than they'd ever dared in here. If he'd tried hard enough the Prince could've no doubt ascended to the Super Saiyan 5, though being on this road meant that they had to spend their power wisely as to not run out of energy within mere hours. Even though they were now at the end, Vegeta still needed to conserve his energy for fight ahead.

As the foursome got closer the gates seemed to loom higher and higher, until they were practically a mountain that cast a gold and silver hue across the road. The nearest energy signal grew stronger and stronger, allowing Vegeta to recognise it until it was right on the tip of his tongue. What troubled him the most though, was the signals he sensed just beyond the gates. Fighting had begun between two large forces – an equal battle so far with no such victor in sight.

With such an intense fight so close at hand the Prince's bloodlust begun to grow wild until he practically craved battle with a hunger equal to addiction. Humans had cigarettes, drugs, sex and alcohol, but _this _was his fix. Still, he'd never experienced it quite so potently as he did now. These nightmares, his sudden fatigue and that strange incident that had started it off just two weeks ago; he was undergoing some sort of change. A change, he feared, that was beyond his control.

At long last the warriors reached the Gates within the fifteen minutes that Vegeta had demanded. Pillars of white-gold sprouted from the ground for miles before they finally met the metallic structure itself, decorated on all sides by majestic statues and holy relics that made Earth's palaces look like backwater shacks.

They landed, deep in the shadow of the colossal twin gates, looking around for the life form they had sensed up until now. Eventually a figure appeared. Clad in an outfit of the sturdiest armour washed over in a holy white, the man stepped out from behind a leviathan of a statue to their right. Flowing, golden blonde hair hung down to his shoulders, and from his back a majestic longsword clung, its handle peering out over his right shoulder.

"Hyperion." Said Vegeta, being the only one out of the four who'd seen this guy up close. "I should've known."

"How've you been Vegeta?" Asked a smiling Hyperion.

"Just peachy – I'm dead remember? Plus I had to follow this stupid road of yours for the last half a year." Vegeta reminded sourly.

"If it was easy to cross I'd have thousands of people queueing up here by now. Some people don't deserve a second chance at life – something you'll find out firsthand soon enough."

Vegeta considered asking the ancient being exactly what he meant by that statement, though he skipped it in favour of other questions he had. "So when, or why did you build this place?" He asked.

"Let's just say I knew the day would come when you would need to return to the world of the living once again. After my death three years ago I used the opportunity to build this place and grant you access back there as a last resort."

"Lord Hyperion sir." Bardock stepped forwards and bowed his head in fealty. "It's an honour to finally meet you. But I have to know; did the king make it here safely?"

"Wait, the king?" Vegeta asked. The implications of Bardock's words were impossible – if he meant _the _king: the King of all Saiyans – could his father really be the fighter he'd sent over the road?

"Please, don't be so formal." Hyperion insisted. "And yes. King Vegeta made it here a month or two ago, but he's in danger now."

"I know! I can sense him outside!"

Of course. Vegeta's memories flashed back all the way to his childhood; to the age of only five when his father had walked amongst the living. That power outside – it was _him_. But if Vegeta's senses proved him right then the man had managed to ascend all the way up to a Super Saiyan 4. He suspected Bardock capable of such a feat, but his father? He'd surpassed the man in strength before he was old enough to know what true power really was.

"Alright. Then we can't waste time here can we?" Said Hyperion. The man drew his sword, resulting in a dull scraping sound echoing around the road as the blade left its sheath. "I know it's cruel to tell you this now, but I can only do this once per being. If you die again and you make your way back here there'll be nothing I can do for you."

The group nodded. They'd each suspected this would be the case, and since none of them planned on dying again any time soon there was no question. The only other option was to fly all the way back across the road to the check-in station, which was something none of them wished for.

"Then let's get on with it." Growled Vegeta.

"I agree." Said Raditz. "We've been dead for too long. I say we get out there and fight!"

"Just one last thing." Hyperion suddenly stepped through the group until he stood across from the only member of their squad who hadn't yet spoken. He put a gauntleted hand on her shoulder. "You're Novus aren't you?" He asked.

The woman looked around with a hint of nervousness before finally nodding. She replied meekly. "Yes."

"Good. You're staying."

As Novus's heart sunk into her stomach, Raditz pushed past his father and slapped Hyperion's hand away. In the three years they'd spent together Novus had never truly seen him display anything close to anger, but this time he seemed about to snap.

"Hey!" He started, squaring up to Hyperion and coming between him and the woman. "She's coming with us. She might be a Vicis but she's not like the others alright? She came all this way with us and I'm not letting her turn back now!"

"Raditz it's okay." She whispered.

"No it's not! If you didn't want her back in the world of the living then why let her start this damn road in the first place?" The saiyan was more than ready to start a fight with their only vessel back to the living. He'd seen his power back when he'd fought Chronus, and after the three years of training he'd endured Raditz felt more than sure that he could take him on if it came down to it.

"Relax Raditz, she can go back to the realm of the living." Said Hyperion. "I know she's not like the other Vices. Because she's made from me."

Novus gasped as the others eyed the man in confusion, prompting him to elaborate on his strange claim.

"Novus, you might not know this, but Chronus – the Master – he was my brother. He made the Vices from different parts of his twisted evil soul, but since we're blood related, part of my cells must've took dominance when he created one of them - you. Your power signal is similar to my own and your techniques are identical despite you never even meeting me. Effectively, this makes you my daughter."

Hyperion allowed his words to sink in as each member of the group sported an expression of stunted surprise. Novus in particular was unsure of how exactly to handle this news – she'd only ever known her creator as the Master, and she'd never seen him in person, she'd only ever lived in fear of his monstrous strength. The knowledge of having something akin to a father was fantastic, but at the same time confusing – why had she never seen him before? Who exactly was he? Was he cut from the same cloth as Chronus? There were a million questions she needed to ask him, though Hyperion cut her off before even one had escaped her lips.

"As evidenced by your last three years of training, Vices can get much stronger, just like any other being. In fact at your current level you might've even been a challenge for your superiors back in the day. But there's so much more you can learn, and I can teach you that faster than you discovering it on your own. All I ask is that you stay with me for a few weeks so that I can prepare you for this war."

"Why don't you just come out with us yourself?" Quizzed Vegeta. "I mean you've got power of your own, why pass it down to the Vicis?"

"I can't leave this place. I'm dead remember?" He revealed, mimicking Vegeta's words. "And whilst I can free others from this domain, I can't seem to apply it to myself. Or at least, I haven't yet found a way. But don't worry. Novus here has the potential to surpass even me – she'll be a great asset to your cause once I'm finished training her. So what do you say?"

Hyperion looked back to Novus for his last question. The blonde haired Vicis looked around shyly before her eyes fell to Raditz for approval. To her surprise, he nodded without hesitation. The saiyan had witnessed Hyperion's fight against his own brother Chronus all those years ago – if anyone was to be trusted here he'd be their man, and if his claim was true then Novus would come out of here far stronger than before.

"Alright. . . I'll do it." She conceded.

"Good. Now we must hurry – you three, prepare yourselves." Hyperion suddenly readied his blade into a combat stance, and before the Prince had a time to put up his guard the warrior had transferred his ki and put all his strength behind an almighty swing in his direction. The blade glowed and hummed with a surge of energy as it traced a golden afterimage through the air before connecting perfectly with Vegeta's halo.

That stupid thing – Vegeta had forgotten all about it up until now. It was a part of him – the part that reminded him that he was dead, and now Hyperion's blade sliced through it like it was nothing more than bread. His eyes rose upwards as he saw the golden ring cleaved perfectly in two, and then shatter into tiny fragments of energy that fluttered to the ground like confetti. He felt life and the entirety of his energy return to him, staring in wonder at his reborn body as Hyperion moved onto Bardock and then Raditz.

"Alright." He said, smirking with satisfaction and clenching a fist in his private moment of triumph. "Open the damn gate."

* * *

King Vegeta peered out through eyes that had turned a fantastic, royal golden upon his ascension to the Super Saiyan 4. His hair, much like his son's, flowed down and over his shoulders whilst at the same time spiking up into a vertical assortment of individual spikes. Fur covered his body of an auburn, reddish brown in colour, and his outfit had morphed into a simple pair of black trousers along with a shoulder-mounted mantle that left a gallant red cape trailing down to his heels. He'd been proud to be the ruler of the Saiyan race when he'd first discovered the secret of the Super Saiyan 4, believing no one else but the only saiyans alive capable of such a feat: Kakarot, Raditz, his son and his grandson. He'd been astounded when Bardock had exhibited the same transformation, but it never occurred to him that _this _monster could've attained such a power. He should've known.

Broly – the Legendary Super Saiyan, now stood before him wielding the exact same transformation, only on a higher standard. His lifeless, rage-filled eyes and radical array of hair were both coloured the same shade of his signature lime green, whilst his fur was a charcoal black in colour, stained red now with the occasional burn he'd received from King Vegeta's onslaught.

Fighting this monster was like fighting a raging bull; no matter how much he dished out – no matter how much damage the man took, he just kept coming and coming, seemingly oblivious to the pain he no doubt suffered. He made no move to block or dodge any attack, he only charged through the collateral to continue his offensive.

The King landed on both feet upon solid ground, keeping his eyes totally fixed on the seven foot monster that charged down from above. At warp speed Broly dashed out of sight, though the saiyan's sharp senses prevailed as he turned and ducked moments before the beast's blindside attack passed over his frame of hair. With Broly's defences completely wide open, King Vegeta fell into a combination of three powerful, explosive punches. On any normal being he'd have connected straight to the jaw or the temple, though thanks to Broly's enormous size he ended up hitting only a chest so solid that his knuckles cracked and bled upon contact.

Even without landing a direct hit, the King reckoned the force he put into those punches should've been more than enough to damage the brute, and just for good measure he twisted into a sky-rising uppercut to finish the combo. Broly staggered back a single step, spitting blood and one or two teeth from his mouth, though the attack had only served to incur his wrath even further. The King of all Saiyans landed with his palms aglow for a finishing move, brightly sending yellow rays beaming out to illuminate the darkened planet.

"_Final!_" He began, though his copied attack was cut off by the damaged saiyan striding forwards once again and seizing hold of the King's neck, almost snapping it with his iron-clad grip. He should've bought more time from that last punch, but as he'd noticed before – the Legendary Super Saiyan was a machine – a force to be reckoned with and rightly feared within the lore of his people.

He hurled King Vegeta fifty metres through the air before the man found himself crashing into a solid cliff face without even a chance to steady himself. Through a hazy field of vision the King fought against his instinct to simply lie there, and threw himself out of the cavern just in time to avoid the brute charging whimsically into the rocky grave. This was his chance; in the aftermath of Broly's missed attack King Vegeta unleashed a fearsome barrage of missiles, pumping blast after blast into the exploding cliff face and charging up a last attack to finish the fiend off for good.

"_Final Flash!_"

The technique he'd learned from watching his own son rocketed from his palms, shooting down in a straight line to engulf the five mile radius with an explosion more devastating than any bomb created by the people of the Earth. The King powered down at last, satisfied that his foe had met his match as the smoky collateral plumed for a few moments before eventually blowing over.

But what Vegeta saw was not the mangled corpse of his dismembered opponent. As the smoke cleared the King noticed that Broly's power had not diminished, but it had in fact begun to swell. In a few moments all became clear; the volatile cackling of chaotic beams of lightning danced around the Legendary Super Saiyan as his fur and eyes began to shift into that sickly shade of lime green. His hair thinned into more and more spikes, with each looking sharp enough to impale a man.

His physique that King Vegeta had already deemed impossibly large swelled again; his muscles bulged until the King almost thought they'd burst, and his rock solid chest was pumped up even further. His cold, lifeless eyes _glowed _with his own shade of green as a flamelike aura surrounded him, finishing off his transformation.

"There's no way. . ." King Vegeta mouthed. From the contented smile on Broly's face however, it seemed there was no mistake here. ". . . Another Super Saiyan 5? - But I thought my son and Kakarot were the only ones?"

The King took a closer look at Broly's finalised transformation as the key to his power presented itself. A small, compressed, three star Dragon Ball could be seen vaguely protruding from the saiyan's chest, radiating power and negative ki at a rate faster than King Vegeta had ever thought possible. In any case, he was screwed – the presence of a Super Saiyan 5 was simply too much for him, and Broly vowed to give him a practical demonstration.

At speeds faster than his eyes could follow, the hulking Goliath disappeared, leaving only an afterimage in his wake. Vegeta sensed him behind right before a fist the size of his head was hammered into his back. He lost all breath in his lungs and his vision blurred in and out of obscurity, dimming faster as Broly warped back to his front and placed a meaty hand around the King's neck, slowly squeezing the newly replenished life out of him.

The King figured his neck was about to snap like a brittle chicken bone; his windpipe was almost completely crushed and his throat was gripped so tightly that not even a single cell of oxygen could make it down. He was moments away before losing consciousness completely when the Super Saiyan 5 suddenly loosened his grip. Vegeta blinked open one eye to see that Broly was staring down back at the ground some hundred metres below, and so he followed his gaze down to a lone figure stood upon the planet's surface.

"Kakarot. . ." Broly snarled.

It wasn't Kakarot – Bardock, the man's father, had appeared, though thanks to their striking similarities the mindless killing machine had been mistaken on first sight.

"KAKAROT!" The saiyan roared again. King Vegeta finally swallowed a mouthful of air as Broly released him, and in his blind state of wrath he plummeted down as fast as he could move as a Super Saiyan 5.

"Bardock. . . Move." He croaked weakly, though thanks to the damage done to his throat he made nowhere near enough noise to alert the saiyan. Bardock simply stared up, his eyes following Broly's fist as the saiyan rushed down to meet him, fully powered up and ready to dish out his vengeance.

"_Hey!_"

A fierce, throaty cry slowed the rampaging brute down to an eventual halt as the Legendary Super Saiyan witnessed a flash of the deepest red spark up in the corner of his eye. He turned to the smirking face of another familiar opponent, harnessing a mighty amount of ki and focusing it to his palms.

"Remember me?" Vegeta taunted.

Broly growled before changing course and heading right for the Prince's direction, knowing that he had to stop such a powerful attack from being finished.

"Bad move. . ." Vegeta's smirk grew wider as his attack reached its prime. Broly charged faster and grew closer as the saiyan prince waited until the very last moment to hit him at point blank range with the full force of his most devastating attack, one that he'd finally mastered in death.

"_CRIMSON OBLIVION!"_

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Plot twist! Hi guys it's me again, real sorry this was a little late but the crazy week I've had has combined with my internet being on the blink and basically every free moment I have the internet seems to have failed, then when I'm out it seems to work perfectly. It's fixed now anyway, so let's discuss the chapter?

For those who haven't read the first entry of DBAF I'll make sure to describe Vegeta's Super Saiyan 5 in the next chapter - it's never been mentioned before, but to use the technique 'Crimson Oblivion' (the one he used to anihilate Chronus) Vegeta has to be in his Super Saiyan 5 form.

And of course onto the big change that you're all going to no doubt hate me for: Pan. Yeah she got only a cameo in the Room of Spirit and Time saga, so I figured it was time to reintroduce her properly. Don't get me wrong: I dislike her just as much as most Dragon Ball fans, but Dragon Ball AF sees GT as canon, and so I can't in good conscience ignore a character that was so vital to that show. Now I was just as shocked as you guys probably were when I noticed her chronological age (Pan being conveniently 18+ is a very common plot element in many Trunks/Pan fanfics) but no, that's actually how it works out: See, as I stated aaaaages ago, like at very beginning in '09, I use the dub's terminology, since Dragon Ball's dub is awesome and it's the version most people are familiar with.

Now here's where it gets slightly confusing: In the original Japanese version of Dragon Ball GT, there are 5 years between the epilogue of Dragon Ball Z and the start of Dragon Ball GT, making Pan 10 years of age in the original GT and 11 at its end. However, in the ENGLISH DUB of Dragon Ball GT, there are 10 years between Z's epilogue and GT, making Pan 15 in the dub GT and 16 at its end. Now I don't know about you, but I think she looks closer to 10/11 than 15/16, but rules are rules, I stick with the dub. Anyway, since there is supposed to be just over 3 years since DBGT and DBAF, Pan would now be 19 chronologically - almost 20. Weird huh?

And now onto the next one: Broly. Tsssk. . . This was a tough one since until now I just DON'T regard Broly as canon - feel free to debate with me on this, but I think he's boring, stupid and generic, he doesn't fit in with the storyline and he's not even that powerful either! (Because Krillin, Goten and Trunks are apparently stronger than him using the power of salt water! D:) I stuck him in there to fill spaces, and because him being a Super Saiyan 5 would be pretty cool (Take that Raging Blast 2!). One of the biggest clues as to the main plot of the series is something Hyperion said to Vegeta, and it's started with Broly. If you're clever you can work it out :)

Aaaand of course King Vegeta: What can I say? I think he's pretty cool - like Bardock he's not going to be a MAJOR part in this fic, but right now I'm pretty sure I've got the whole roster of fighters established. . . All save one awesome green namekian. . .

Phew, that was a long notes section - guess I feel like I have to justify EVERYTHING I do in this. Oh well. Definitely some Piccolo next week!


	5. Chapter 5 Two Sides of the Same Coin

Chapter 5: Two sides of the same coin

Piccolo marched alone through the farthest depths of the underworld, watching carefully for any signs of movement and keeping his senses on full alert. Sharpened crags of outcropping rock scaled up around him to form a path that he ventured down after putting off his goal for far too long. The ground crunched in decay and left a smog of dust from crumbling stones in his wake, and the sky swirled a contorted mix of onyx black streaked with bursts of chaotic hellfire.

He'd gathered information quickly upon his arrival here years ago, though in all that time he'd never once gathered the courage to pursue it, that was, until seven months ago. The bumbling King Kai had warned him of a new threat approaching, and whether it be a great catastrophe or a minor skirmish, Piccolo knew that this was his wakeup call – he had to get to work now or he'd miss out on everything – he needed this power. He needed to reunite with his true self.

The namekian hadn't been surprised to learn that his evil side had fled to an isolated corner of the underworld, where he could remain uninterrupted and enjoy the isolation his twisted soul desired. Piccolo received King Kai's warning and hadn't replied, needing the time to think, but he took the overseer's words on board and deemed that now was the time to act on his intelligence.

He'd merge with the evil King Piccolo and proceed to stage two of his plan. Recently Piccolo had contacted the Fortuneteller Baba, whom had the ability to transmit herself between the realm of the living and otherworld. She'd made a deal with King Yemma about Goku a long time ago – to restore him to life for one full day so that he could participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament and meet his second son Goten. Over the years, the gods of otherworld had become far more generous; he'd managed to wrangle a whole month out of the old hag. She and Yemma awaited his signal to return him to the world of the living, but for now he had work to do.

If he wasn't stronger, Piccolo knew he had no place in this fight if it turned out to be the next major foe that threatened the cosmos. Last time he'd managed to take out only one of the weaker Vices, and even that battle had nearly claimed his life.

So Piccolo had raced alone through the wastelands of the underworld, heading what he deemed as south towards his target. Sure enough, after months upon months of flying straight, a malevolent source of power could be felt brewing on the horizon, so the namekian slowed down to a brisk walk, collecting himself for the battle ahead. It was King Piccolo alright – there was no mistaking a namekian power level so fundamentally similar to his own, but the difference was in the strength.

Piccolo knew that his power far exceeded his former self – in fact the great King Piccolo was weak in comparison to all the enemies he'd faced since then. However, the real battle would no doubt take place _after _he'd defeated him.

"So you came."

Piccolo walked into a clearing; the winding path of the twin cliff faces stopped abruptly to reveal a crater the size of multiple sports fields, dipping downwards into its nexus where a single figure stood.

He stood at exactly the same height and build as Piccolo himself, but the evil King Piccolo remained very much a completely different being. He lacked Piccolo's signature weighted turban and accompanying caped mantle, instead trading it for the only the purple combat top emblazoned with his own symbol across the chest. His face was far more gaunt as opposed to Piccolo's leaner features, and a glint in the demon King's eyes showed off a destructive will of hatred as his energy signal confirmed. Piccolo's expression on the other hand remained as calm and focused as always, analysing the situation with a look of cold objectivity.

"You know junior, I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show up so we could have this out once and for all."

Piccolo chuckled himself; the audacity of such a claim humoured him. "Oh please." He laughed. "This won't be a battle - you wouldn't last five seconds in combat with me. I've come to take back what's mine. Originally we were one being, so if I add your power to my own I should more than enough for what I need. . ." The namekian sighed, fighting against his instincts and handling the situation as he figured Goku would. "As much as I want to beat it out of you by force, I'll give you a chance to surrender quietly. . . This doesn't have to be difficult."

King Piccolo remained quiet for a few moments before suddenly erupting in a fit of laughter at his son's words. Being out here, isolated and alone for the last five decades meant that the Demon King apparently had no idea what his offspring was now capable of.

"Don't flatter yourself boy, once I add _your _power to _mine _you'll see who's the stronger fighter. Maybe with this new strength I'll be able to break out of this pit!"

"You seem bitter. Well, more so than usual at least. I'm going to take a guess and say you're feeling sorry for yourself because you missed your ticket out of here. Guess you're not as high up in the food chain down here as you thought." Theorised Piccolo, showing again that his deductive skills were second to none.

"You know about that?" Asked his father.

"It's hard not to notice when six big powers disappear from hell. My only question is why?"

"Like I care about Alpha's plans. Even if I knew anything about it, you think I'd tell you? You're nothing more than a shadow of your former self – a bad imitation of me."

"Alpha? So that's what they're calling him." Mused Piccolo, taking no heed to the man's insults.

"Enough of this. Are we going to fight or not?" Demanded the Demon King.

"Last chance father. You can still come quietly."

"In your dreams!" With that, the older Piccolo powered up into higher form and rushed his spawn with a glare of hatred.

A smile creased Piccolo's lips upon noticing that his aged, decrepit father moved like a sloth to his highly attuned eyes; his power had grown quite a bit since his reign at the world tournament all those years ago, but in terms of scouter power levels the battle was still a contest of the King's tens of thousands to Piccolo's hundreds of millions.

"You know I was kind of hoping you'd say that." Piccolo revealed.

After what felt like an eternity to the younger namekian, the demon king eventually reached his target and connected a fist to Piccolo's face. The green man didn't even flinch. He stood his ground without even bothering to block, ending in what felt like a tickle for him. For the evil King Piccolo however, his fist had made contact with a pillar of lead. His knuckles bled a violet liquid down green skin, leaving him horrified in the wake of his ineffectual attack.

Piccolo's mere twitch of his finger then caused his clone to leap back to a safe distance in fright before firing off a barrage of ki-based attacks, once again proving of little use as his offspring walked calmly out of the smoke.

"I'll give you one last chance to surrender." He said. "I warn you – at my level it's going to be hard to keep you alive without accidentally killing you."

King Piccolo growled in frustration as his fist curled into a tighter ball. The gap between their powers was incredible, but fortunately he had a trump card up his sleeve – something that might give him the upper hand as a measure of last resort. As the Demon King extended both his index and middle finger he charged a vast amount of his own energy into the very points of his appendages. Like a meditating sage he pressed both fingers to his forehead, charging up to full capacity for his most devastating technique.

"I know that move." Said the younger namekian, sparing a laugh as he casually hid his hands behind his back. "I notice that even in spite of all your misplaced pride you still don't mind copying your techniques from me." Piccolo's taunts however were cut off as his father's attack reached its prime.

"_Special Beam Cannon!_" The namekian cast both fingers out in front of him, expelling both the straight beam and spiralling lighter one with bull's-eye accuracy and breakneck speed towards the younger of his species. However for all of King Piccolo's speed, his son remained faster. Piccolo smoothly sidestepped the blast as though it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience, leaving his father stunned and exhausted after dishing out his most powerful technique. Everything he'd put out had been completely useless; Piccolo was on another level entirely.

"You've still got a lot to learn about that technique." Piccolo said, as from the hidden cover of his cape he suddenly pulled his hands once again, revealing that unlike the Demon King, he'd acquired a whole new strain of the blast.

"_Twin Special Beam Cannon!_" The namekian pulled both triggers on his own personal guns to blast away a pair of bullet-like Special Beam Cannons that pierced straight through both knees of his already hunching father, sending him crashing to the ground with a roar of pain as he clutched his wounds. Thick, violet blood trickled relentlessly from the King's knees, forbidding him to stand or even move without breaking what few bones he had left in his legs. Ahead he saw Piccolo disappear at speeds faster than his eyes could follow, only to materialise again some three feet away from him.

"With the amount of energy you've spent up you won't be regenerating in any hurry." Said Piccolo. "I suggest you do this without resistance – it'll be a pain for both of us if you struggle.

"Go ahead." Spat the Demon King. "Just hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

Piccolo ignored his father's comment as he placed his clawed hand flat on the man's head, preparing to make the transfer in which the pair would merge, using Piccolo's body and mind as the host.

"I know how you became so strong." Added the Demon King. "Don't think I don't know about your cheap tricks for power: you merged with other namekians didn't you? Two if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, and what does that have to do with anything?" Piccolo muttered absently.

"Well you _do _know what happens to namekians who merge with _more_ than two aren't you?"

"I'm aware."

"Ah so you _do _know about it. And here I was beginning to think you'd gone insane. Stories say that namekians who merge with three different beings struggle to keep a grip on their different identities. The host becomes lost and is often taken over by the last namekian he absorbed, which in this case would be me." King Piccolo smiled, seeing that his words troubled his son.

"But some survive." Reminded Piccolo. "And I can push back the likes of you for however long it takes to shut you up for good."

"Those are the ones who go willingly. None who _forced_ another namekian to merge ever escaped with their mind intact – and this is me you're dealing with. You know I've heard stories that the third namekian's consciousness can eventually take over the host's body for good. And the power I'll gain from your body would make me nigh on unstoppable. Now wouldn't that be interesting?"

"I'd die before I let that happen – I can defeat you on the field so I can defeat you in my head. You're forgetting that none of those other namekians were quite as strong as I am."

"We'll see son. By the time I'm finished with you, you'll be so pathetic that you'll cut off pieces of yourself just to try and get me away, and then when they grow back you'll beg me to kill you, just so I can spare you of your pitiful existence."

Piccolo smirked. For a short time he'd actually considered that King Piccolo might have repented after fifty years in hell, but it seemed he was as malicious as ever; a being so evil that Piccolo privately looked forward to beating him down again in the arena of his own mind.

"Yeah." Said Piccolo. "I guess we will see."

A magnificent burst of golden light suddenly erupted from Piccolo's palm as his forced merger was complete. Finally the King's voice was silenced by the blast of vibrant colour breaking him down into basic molecules which in turn seeped into the pores of the stronger namekian, joining him in both body and mind. Piccolo's body shook a series of violent spasms as an automatic reaction to the influx of so much energy. With the power struggling to be contained, the namekian pulsed out a blast around him, unconsciously levelling six square miles of hell and scorching the ground for miles around with an explosion that engulfed the land.

Piccolo let out a savage roar from the pain of his merger. Not since Chronus obliterating him three years ago had the namekian experienced pain quite so potent. He struggled past the sudden evil instincts of his predecessor, pushing back wicked desires that buried themselves into the back of his mind where King Piccolo's consciousness would take residence, trying wherever he could to subtly influence Piccolo's actions before eventually going for something more ambitious.

At long last, once Piccolo felt sure that he'd suppressed the evil intentions of his father for the time being, the screaming stopped as the smoke from the collateral began to clear. He looked his body up and down, realising that whilst no obvious change had occurred, his metamorphosis was all in the fine details.

Piccolo flexed his arm attentively, noticing the sheer strength he packed behind a single arm was more than his whole body had previously been able to generate. Finally he was at maximum capacity; finally he could stand tall with the others as one of the most powerful beings in the universe; finally he'd return to the field of battle for one last war.

"Hang on Goku." He said aloud, sporting a restricted smile at his undeniable satisfaction. "I'm coming."

* * *

"_Crimson Oblivion!_"

Using all the strength he could muster at a single time, Vegeta's attack blasted as a concentrated meteor of energy at the Legendary Super Saiyan standing before him with an explosion so colossal that the Prince had to cover his eyes to shield himself from the scattering particles of dust.

In his years of solitude Vegeta had perfected the deadly ki blast that had brought about the end of their last foe Chronus - a technique he called the Crimson Oblivion. Whilst it still used up a major amount of his vital life force, he'd learned to control the blast's chaotic power to a point where he could fire one off even in his lesser state of the Super Saiyan 4.

Vegeta soared back from the ever swelling mushroom cloud and took a moment to survey the battleground. Raditz and Bardock were nearby; though for him the most interesting by far was the presence of his own father, a man who he had not seen in over forty decades. With them both maintaining the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, Vegeta felt as though he was looking into a mirror, as the King's appearance heavily resembled his own with only a few minor differences.

King Vegeta's eyes had shifted into a solid shade of gold rather than the Prince's aquamarine, his hair was a lighter shade, his attire was far nobler and the presence of a goatee distinguished him from his son. Aside from that however, the resemblance was uncanny: the tone of their fur was identical along with the unique array their hair had taken on, and the near-perfect clone of his facial and physical structure surprised even the Prince himself, as he'd never had the chance to stand side by side with his father as a fully grown man.

"Son. . ." Started the King. For years he'd dreamt of the day when he could see his son again, but now that the day had come he found himself at a loss for words. "You look well."

Vegeta scoffed. "You too. You know I never thought the secrets of our race could be unlocked by someone like yourself."

The King held back a snarl. Clearly his son remained bitter about the misdeeds he'd committed in his prime, and probably still resented him for bowing down to Frieza. He had to make him see that he'd changed over the years. "I speak on behalf of all the saiyan race when I say that we have learned much from you and your friends." He said. "Please Vegeta, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to help."

Vegeta smirked as he formulated his response. "Alright, alright." He chuckled, giving his father the benefit of the doubt. He just hoped the capacity to change ran in the family. "Let's not get all dewy-eyed on the battlefield shall we? You can have your reunion when this fight's over."

"Over? You mean-"

"That's right. He's not dead yet."

As if on cue the mass of smoke and dust suddenly blew away from the immense power of its target charging ki. The cloud separated, leaving a relatively unfazed Broly stood at its centre, staring down the Prince with the glowing green eyes of his very own Super Saiyan 5.

"Should've known." Vegeta muttered. "Alright everybody get back. It takes a Super Saiyan 5 to beat another Super Saiyan 5."

"Vegeta, let us help!" Raditz protested. "I can-"

"_N__o_. Sorry Raditz but you'll get a fight soon enough. This one's personal – I won't be satisfied unless it's just me and him. You'll only get in my way."

Vegeta took Raditz's silence as a guarantee of his compliance, falling into a powering up stance before Broly intervened.

"That won't do you any good. I have the power of wrath at my disposal." Said the beast.

Vegeta arched an eyebrow. "Well would you look at that? The thing actually talked! And here I thought your vocabulary didn't extend beyond the words of 'Kakarot'."

Broly merely uttered a low, husky growl in response to Vegeta's quick-witted mocking.

"Well let's see if we can make you beg for mercy!" Cried the Prince, his words amplified by the high pitched hum of ki as a fantastic white light was cast out in all angles from his very body. From the blinding silhouette of Vegeta's transformation, the others watched in awe as his entire frame began to change. Thunder cackled from the ascending Prince, complimented by a bursting aura of the purest fire that danced around his form in an eight foot wall; a barrier that would fry to the bones any lesser being who dared to even stand within it.

After only a few moments Vegeta's restrained growls of effort came to an end as the light subsided to reveal a form that only Raditz had ever seen up close. The Prince's fur had warped into his own signature shade of the darkest blue, broken only by two distinct white stripes running down his back and up his furred abdomen. His hair, whilst keeping the same basic shape and colour as it displayed as a super saiyan 4, had thinned into countless spikes, each one seemingly sharp enough to pierce human flesh. The thunder that the fighters had heard earlier jolted and spun around him as four volatile bolts of lightning, making his aura now identical to Broly's own.

Vegeta's blue rimmed eyes finally opened, revealing that those same turquoise coloured eyes of the Super Saiyan 4 now _glowing_ with energy; two shining orbs that peered into one's very soul. Indeed, the eyes seemed to be the centrepiece of any Super Saiyan 5 transformation, yet never before had two pairs locked together for an all-out fight to the death. Vegeta and Broly shared a few moments in this Super Saiyan staring contest, each one trying to get the upper hand before the fight had even started by breaking the mental resolve of the other fighter. Neither faltered, until finally Vegeta smirked and pointed in Broly's direction.

"Take a good long look saiyans." He declared, addressing every pureblood in the vicinity. "Despite what you all may think, this being that stands before you is _not _the Legendary Super Saiyan. And I'm going to prove it by sending him back into hell where he belongs."

"_Are we going to fight or not?_" Broly demanded, shaking with anticipation. "Or are you not done talking?"

"Oh I'm done." Vegeta muttered. Faster than the speed of a blink the Prince suddenly disappeared, reappearing before any had time to register his absence with a world-crushing blow to Broly's stomach. For the first time since his resurrection, the leviathan of a saiyan actually recoiled, hunching over from having his lungs pancaked and leaving himself wide open for Vegeta's follow-up haymaker to his jaw. The sheer force of the Prince's strike sent Broly hurtling down towards the surface of the planet, and Vegeta was sure he'd hit the ground until he warped into lightspeed at the last moment.

But Vegeta had played this game before; he knew exactly where Broly was hiding. As fast as his body would move, the saiyan whirled around just in time to block a punch before hovering over a kick and sending another fist to the face of the hulking monstrosity. Punch after punch he wailed on the reinforced concrete body of Broly, and whilst he could see his attacks clearly taking their toll, he still drew far less blood than he'd have liked.

Eventually Broly retaliated, as even in the aftermath of a booted kick to the face the titanic still had enough stability to send a barrage of punches Vegeta's way. For a while he hit nothing but air, though Broly's relentless attacks finally came through as he landed a solid punch to Vegeta's chest. After that it became easy, as thanks to the Prince's pain Broly managed another six strikes in quick succession before he struggled free.

Vegeta flew back another ten metres, using his thumb to wipe away a wsteady flow of blood dripping from his mouth. Broly was good – it was undeniable; every blow he dealt was a hefty dose of a Super Saiyan freight train slamming into his body. What he lacked in skill, Broly made up for in natural talent; he didn't have to train to be good, he was powerful by the mere fact of his birth and built like a tank to boot. He could see why people revered Broly as the Legendary Super Saiyan, and despite all evidence to prove this beyond all doubt, Vegeta knew the truth in his heart: Kakarot was the Legendary Super Saiyan, not this overgrown poser.

"King Vegeta!" Cried Bardock, running over to their combatant's father as the King of all Saiyans touched down. "Use your senses: Who's stronger? Broly or your son?"

King Vegeta broadened out his power radius to try and scope out the gap between the two enormous powers, yet for all his intuition the pair were still so far ahead of his own strength that it was made difficult to gauge. "I'm not sure – it's like standing at the base of two mountains and trying to see which one's higher."

Vegeta ducked under a lumbering swing from the giant and struck out three times, landing each one before forcing Broly into a high speed exchange, with fists, elbows, feet and knees meeting one another at a similar rate of fire to a thousand simultaneous machine guns. The pair then warped from place to place, each time colliding with an attack with an impact that sent fireworks of energy into the sky, punctuated further with the sonic boom of every clash.

"_Final Flash!_"

"_Eraser Cannon!_"

One moment the two had been trading blows around the sky, and then next Vegeta and Broly had each fired off a powerful beam of their own making. As Vegeta expected, the blasts of golden and green cancelled each other out, erupting in a mushroom cloud at the moment of impact. He waited a few seconds for the smoke to clear before smirking, positive that his opponent could see his lack of fear.

"I guess it's as I thought. You're strong Broly, I'll give you that! But you've got no tact for battle at all – you go rushing in without a second thought and you don't think ahead. With that kind of game plan you'll never beat someone like me."

* * *

"Looks like he figured it out." Down below, King Vegeta had calculated the difference in their powers just in time to hear his son's speech. "In terms of sheer strength, Broly's got the upper hand in this battle. In fact I'd go as far as to say he's even more powerful than Kakarot." He added.

"Are you saying he can't win?" Asked Raditz.

"Far from it – it's one thing to have power, but it's how you use it that counts. Vegeta has been in far more battles than Broly; he's got more experience than any fighter I know of and he knows his way around the battlefield better than any of us. When you compare that with a simple-minded powerhouse blinded by rage like Broly. . . The fight evens out."

"So it could still go either way?" Said Bardock.

"Your guess is as good as mine Bardock." Offered the King.

* * *

Sensing Broly's impatience, Vegeta attacked again, zooming in from afar with a kick that was dodged only barely by the giant saiyan. With Broly in retreat, the Prince launched a scattering barrage of miniature yellow blasts, each one like the sting of a flaming hornet. Even with the blooming explosions piling up, Vegeta still peppered the fleeing saiyan with the bullet-like ki attacks, realising all too late that Broly was long gone.

"An afterimage!" He cursed, turning straight into a hammering elbow from the brute's sneak attack. Vegeta suddenly found himself plummeting at breakneck speeds through a hazy vision. He tried desperately to regain complete consciousness in his daze before crashing straight into the side of a mountain, through a landslide of boulders and into the cavernous depths below.

"Ugh. ." He coughed, pushing himself back to his feet. Vegeta merely had to flare out the aura of the Super Saiyan 5 to light the place up, finding that he had more room than he'd at first perceived. He felt the ominous presence of Broly hovering just outside the mountain, trying to scope out the Prince's exact location with his lacklustre senses. Whilst many would consider this a good thing, Vegeta knew exactly what would happen if Broly didn't get his way in the next few seconds; he'd reduce the entire mountainside to a pile of smoking charcoal. He had to take a risk and strike now whilst he still had the element of surprise, and so with a groan of effort the saiyan clasped both hands together.

_I only get two __shots at the Crimson Oblivion before it burns me out completely, and I've used one already. _He mused._ I need to find some kind of opportunity to hit him point blank with the last one._

"_Final Shine!_"

From the wreckage of the burning mountain a blinding ray of green light suddenly erupted, engulfing Broly with a stinging sensation and burning into his glowing pupils like white-hot acid. He shut his eyes in pain momentarily before opening them just at the right moment to see Vegeta's boot heading straight towards his face. In the aftermath of his attack the Prince still wasted no time in going to town on the brute's body. He pursued the saiyan through the skies, setting his hands aflame with a pure white ki and unloading a fearsome combination of punches, each one far stronger than even Broly's own.

"_Royal Assualt!_" He cried, letting the name of his attack speak for itself as he pounded Broly from every angle. After over thirty of the ki-augmented attacks slammed home to their targets though, the supposed Legendary Super Saiyan regained focus, making a grab for the saiyan Prince at speeds not quite fast enough to catch him. Vegeta disengaged his technique and retreated to a safe distance, surveying the damage of his attacks.

As he expected, Vegeta had made countless indentures on the goliath's frame, and probably even fractured a few bones in the process. Yet for all the damage he'd dished out, the Prince knew that he should've done more. That attack had knocked Duodecimus out for the count; Broly should've been at least unconscious - a drooling mess of broken bones and gushing wounds, but still he stood.

"You're much better than I expected." Said Vegeta, again paying another rare compliment to one of the few pureblood saiyans left in existence. "But you didn't obtain that power all by yourself did you? I'm guessing whatever brought you back from hell shoved that Dragon Ball into your chest, and just like that you had the power to become a Super Saiyan 5. The rest of us had to earn our strength the hard way."

Broly merely growled under his breath, allowing Vegeta to continue.

"It's obvious from that Dragon Ball that the namekian set has overloaded, meaning that whoever's in charge is using the negative energy from the balls to bring back monsters like you and give you a little power boost. It makes sense I guess; why make new beings when there's a whole host of evil bastards like you rotting in hell who'd love to get a little payback. Seven Dragon Balls means seven of you - my only question is who else was brought back? Omega? Cell? Frieza? Just the four of us here would probably kill _each other_ trying to decide who gets to take down _that _purple freak."

"The other dragons are not your concern right now. I am your opponent." Spat Broly.

"Dragons eh? I suppose you are in sense." Vegeta figured. "I'm just looking forward to all the other old faces I'll get to see after I'm finished with you."

"_You won't get the chance!_" The oversized saiyan suddenly flared out his own lightning imbued aura and charged in a blind state of wrath straight for the prince of all saiyans, who smirked upon seeing his approaching foe.

"Come get me dragon." He muttered.

With another thunderclap to mark their clash the two titans fell into another bout of high speed combat, dashing between attacks and throwing them back out of pure instinct as they raced around the battlefield. The pair soared right over the heads of the three spectating saiyans whilst they fought and eventually found their way to the ground, where their exchange became far more complex in Vegeta's favour.

The prince sprung back several paces before using his momentum to launch himself back off solid rock and land a whirling kick to Broly's temple. The monster wobbled, though he regained clarity just in time to throw a retaliating punch Vegeta's way; a punch that was smoothly ducked under by the Prince of all Saiyans, putting him in the ideal spot to blast himself up and into a high rising uppercut, enhanced by the power of his Royal Assault technique.

From there Vegeta pursued Broly to the skies, warping to and from specific points just at the right moment to knock the brute back with another punch and dash straight into the saiyan's flightpath for another, juggling him with consecutive punches. After eight successful attacks Vegeta's battle instincts told him he was ready. He warped further this time, fixing both hands together and charging up an almighty blast of red energy: This was it.

"_Crimson!_"

Vegeta's energy suddenly dipped from the power this technique took out of him, but he reasoned that he'd have much time to recuperate after he'd obliterated this scum of the universe. Just when he thought he'd won though, the opening of Broly's glowing green eye told him differently, and seconds before he could prime the beam into full power the saiyan accelerated towards him, grabbing his wrists with a vice-like grip and aiming the attack away from him.

"What the?-" Vegeta cursed. He struggled under the solid grasp of Broly's meaty hands, desperately trying to get free for the cause of his most powerful attack not being in vain. Broly sniggered in delight at his entrapment of the saiyan Prince; a potential distraction that Vegeta used to deliver a swift kick to the brute's shins and aim his glowing palms for the brute's midsection. It wasn't as direct as he'd hoped, but it was this or nothing, forcing Vegeta to make a split-second decision. He shut his eyes and prayed it would be enough.

"_OBLIVION!_"

With a blast the size of a comet erupting from Vegeta's hands, the saiyan was sent hurtling back another fifty yards into the sky as an eruption the size of an atomic bomb flared into existence. His palms stung with the burn of an attack so chaotically unstable, though his biggest concerns lay within the wreckage of smouldering air that lay before him: had he done enough to secure a victory?

His question was answered mere seconds later. His heart stopped and his eyes widened in shock at the sight of Broly, tentatively hovering up and out of the collateral. He was damaged alright; a large chunk had been blasted out of his left side at the point where the Crimson Oblivion struck true, and almost his entire torso surrounding it was grilled with bleeding third degree burns, but the bottom line was that he was still alive. Neither fighter was in much of a condition to carry on the battle, but being saiyans, they'd persevere until a winner was decided.

Vegeta stopped to think: He'd never dared fire off a third Crimson Oblivion in otherworld out of fear for his own life, but if push came to shove he knew that he might. . . _Might _be able to generate a third without dying. Whatever the case, a mere whim was hardly worth risking the lives of his comrades, and so he reluctantly turned his head down to the others.

"Father, Bardock, Raditz." He said, addressing the three saiyans. "Get off this planet while you're still able. I'll catch up when I can."

"You can't be serious!" Raditz protested. "No way! We're not leaving you here! How are we supposed to leave anyway?"

"The saiyans conquered this planet long ago." Muttered the King. "There's still some working pods a few miles north of here."

Vegeta nodded. "Then it's settled, take them and set a course for Earth, just leave one behind for me."

"Forget it! I didn't come all this way just to-"

"_Look _Raditz, don't you understand?" Demanded Vegeta, regrettably losing his temper at an old friend. "If we continue to fight here this planet could go up in flames at any second. I know I can beat him, but if the planet explodes then it's better off if just I go with it than all four of us!"

A few moments of silence spread around the group of saiyans below. Raditz looked to his father to join his protest, though a knowing look from him was all it took to assure the saiyan that leaving was the right choice. They were distractions for him here; Vegeta couldn't fight at one hundred percent knowing that a stray blast could send them back into the next world if he wasn't careful.

"You'd better beat him Vegeta." Raditz warned, playfully trying to get a guarantee out of the saiyan Prince.

Vegeta nodded once as his frown widened into a confident smirk. "I'll see you on Earth, Raditz." He said.

Deeming that Vegeta's promise was good enough, Raditz took to the skies with Bardock and King Vegeta in tow, leaving two of the most powerful saiyans in existence locked in a heated stare-down of mutual resentment through vividly shining eyes. After a minute or so, once Broly was sure that Raditz and the others were were out of reach, he spoke once again.

"I take it you sent them away because you didn't want them to see you die?" He taunted.

Vegeta chuckled to himself; clearly Broly's wit was hardly his strongest suit. "Actually no." He began. "It's just that they're rather weak of heart - if they saw the state you'll be in after this is over they'd be out of sleep for a month."

With no retort Broly merely choked a throaty growl, yet his passive-aggressive tendencies were cut short by the saiyan Prince concentrating his ki, pushing past the pain that his body suffered and flaring out his aura until it could go no further.

"_So do you want to finish __this while we're still young Broly?_" He roared.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Back again people! So yeah some of you guys might not have been aware, but the reason this is a little late is because I had to go on a little hiatus thanks to my last laptop breaking. Honestly it didn't last as long as I figured it would - I said I'd be like 2-3 months out but it was more like just a few weeks. Part of the reason it's late is also because I had pretty much completely finished this chapter on my last laptop, so when it died I had to write it all out again on this new one. It gone done in just a few days though, since chapters that focus on Vegeta generally just write themselves - he's an absolute joy to write.

So yeah, that first half was the reason Piccolo was in hell; congratulations to Jason9000 and InfiniteStorm along with some of you others who no doubt sussed it out. You all get virtual cookies. I picked that particular plot point up from an old copy of Supersonic Warriors I happen to own in which Piccolo gains much greater power by reuniting with his former self, which makes sense when you think about it.

And I know that most people reading this would already know what Super Saiyan 5 Vegeta looks like since I described him before, but this is the form's first appearance in the new 'Saga' so I just had to fill in the new readers.

Man, this story is getting _hard_. Plotting it is becoming much more difficult - in this fic I've got almost twice the amount of main characters running around and everyone's in different places all over the galaxy; it's hard to keep track when I'm planning ahead; I'm scared of just randomly ommitting one of the main characters if I'm not careful xD But I suppose challenge is a good thing in the long run :)

I'm not going to drag out the battle with Broly for much longer - it's gone on for two chapters and it's practically finished now, I just need to include a super awesome climax. . . Next time on Dragon Ball AF!


	6. Chapter 6 Third Fusion?

Chapter 6: Third Fusion?

"_Goten! Goten snap out of it!_" Trunks yelled over the rumbling growl of his best friend ascending higher, but not in the way he'd desired. From a Super Saiyan 3 Goten had taken one look out of the window and into the starry void of space only to have his eyes suddenly shoot into the back of his sockets and his chest heave so violently that it seemed as though his heart was trying to pump its way out of his very body.

Trunks watched in horror as Goten's teeth suddenly sharpened into fangs, his bodily hair shedding and slowly replacing itself with ape-like fur of a super saiyan gold.

"Damn it! Not again!" Trunks cursed to himself. If he didn't do something quickly he knew their ship would be destroyed; the main brig alone was far from big enough to contain the full size of a golden great ape, and despite the sturdy interior it would eventually crack under the bulk of the saiyan's weight. The purple haired hybrid wasted no time in powering up to his own personal Super Saiyan 4, complete with deep violet eyes and a lighter shade that coloured his fur coat.

He'd attained the long-haired transformation three years ago in his fight against two of the twelve Vices; in his enemy's folly they had set the battleground as a barren moon in the farthest reaches of space, never realising that the blutzwaves Trunks absorbed had increased tenfold with the sheer amount of visible surrounding planets. Had he not been fighting for his life and the lives of others - if he'd been in Goten's situation, Trunks was sure that in hindsight he would've succumbed to the primal instincts of the beast and rampaged across the planet. He'd lucked out purely because he was in the middle of an intense battle that governed the fate of everyone he knew and loved.

But now it was different: Goten had no incentive to stop, so Trunks would have to make him. In a desperate attempt to slow the saiyan's metamorphosis Trunks raced over to the artificial gravity machine, pushing the settings all the way up to a six hundred that he could steadily handle at his maximum power. To his dismay it did nothing to hinder Goten's transformation process – if anything the change sped up.

Trunks then flew over to the lying form of his half-ape friend and grabbed the saiyan's wrists, trying to pin him down to the floor with all the strength his highest transformation could muster. Goten merely struggled beneath him before breaking free with an almighty roar, rewarding Trunks for his troubles with a punch to the face that sent him crashing into the reinforced glass of the cockpit with a broken nose and a dislodged jaw.

Stifling a groan of pain, Trunks pushed himself back to a sitting position. He cracked his jawbone back into place with a grimace as he checked Goten's progress. The son of Goku began to stand, growing more and more inhumanly muscular by the second and standing at just over ten feet tall. Trunks groaned; at the rate he was growing, another ten seconds would make him hit the roof and he'd eventually grow so big that the ship's interior would break open, exposing them to the void of space and greeting them with a slow and painful suffocation.

There was only one option left now.

Trunks hauled himself back onto both feet and set off without a second thought. He headed straight towards the berserking, half transformed ape before him in a seemingly suicidal flight. As he expected, Goten flung a monster of a punch in his direction, though Trunks graciously flipped out of the way and soared right under the second incoming punch of the beast, ending up right behind the golden ape's head.

"Sorry Goten!" He yelled, and with that he sent a powerful kick to the back of his friend's tree trunk of a neck, knocking him out for the count as the saiyan ape slowly begun to shrink back down to a normal size.

* * *

After a well-deserved three hours of sleep Goten eventually awoke, sprawled out on the downstairs couch with the quilt from his bed nicely tucked into the crevices of the sofa's arms. He rubbed his head in pain to find that he'd experienced this sensation before: it was something very similar to a morning after twenty rounds of tequila and an easily won bar fight on his behalf. Even his surroundings were the same; he lay collapsed on a couch with a tall glass of water and two aspirin sat on a glass table before him, no doubt put there by Trunks. The giant plasma screen used for communication spanned out before him, and for the umpteenth time Goten wished it had cable.

"Why didn't you put me to my bed?" He groaned, forcing Trunks to turn to his direction.

"_Because_, Snow White, We've still got training to do. So drink up." He said cheerily.

Goten sat up slowly and downed the medicine Trunks had generously given, savouring the refreshing effectiveness of an ice-cold glass of water to his worst hangover in the universe. "You mean Sleeping Beauty." He corrected after a while.

"Actually Beauty and the Beast might be more appropriate given what just happened, only minus the beauty." Trunks joked.

"Very funny."

After a wobbly start Goten eventually managed to stand. He rubbed his temples in pain before making his way over to the ladders with Trunks in tow.

"Are you okay?" Trunks asked; it was a rhetorical question – Goten looked far from okay, but the saiyan perseverance and reputation he had to keep up for his father's sake forced him to carry on working no matter the cost. Whenever he felt himself slacking these days he simply had to remind himself what Goku and Gohan would do to spark up his motivation once again.

"I'll be fine. Just give me a minute or two." Said Goten. After hovering up the ladders the saiyan made his way over to the control chair, collapsing in it to prepare himself for training with just a few moments of solace.

"Sure thing, but no more stargazing for you – I closed all the shutters."

"What?" Protested Goten. "Awww – but there's nothing else to do around here!"

Trunks laughed. "Yeah, and your new replacement for watching TV is going to end up killing us if you're not careful."

"But I almost had it that time! I swear!"

"Look Goten, I'm sure you did, but it seems like the closer you get to obtaining it the closer you get to destroying the ship. We've only been out here two days and you've almost killed us three times."

Goten merely pouted in misery and proceeded to sulk in such a way that Trunks wasn't quite sure whether he was serious or joking.

"But it's not fair." He moaned. "You managed the transformation three years ago."

Trunks sighed. "That was a fluke – I'd barely even gotten a grip on the Super Saiyan 3 when that happened. It's been three years and I'm still not that good at it. Trust me, if it was you out there in that same situation you'd have transformed as well. And anyway I'm older than you; it'll happen eventually, don't worry."

"I just think that if I could transform into a Super Saiyan 4, then maybe-"

"Gotenks would be able to become a Super Saiyan 5?" Finished Trunks, showing Goten that he too had considered the possibility.

"Exactly! I mean you heard what my Dad said - he said that these guys might need a Super Saiyan 5 to beat."

"We don't know that for sure." Reminded Trunks.

"But you'd like to be on the safe side right?"

Sighing again, Trunks put his hand to his head. Stubbornness was one of the few characteristics of all saiyans that he resented at times. "Alright then." He reasoned. "How long have we got left till we reach the Dragon Ball?"

Goten swivelled around to monitor, and with just a few taps he'd brought up the universal dragon radar once again; it was a map that detailed almost the entire galaxy, complete with six stationary lights and the distinct icons of the four Capsule Corporation ships heading towards them.

"I'd say about five days – maybe six." Goten Answered. "Looks like we're gonna be the first ones to reach our target; everyone else has a fair way to go just yet."

"Hmm." Trunks put his hand to his chin as he pondered over their course of action. "Alright how about this?" He suggested. "We'll stop off at the next uninhabited planet we come across, just for a day or two. We'll use the time to try and make you into a Super Saiyan 4."

"_Seriously?_" With the prospect of such a promising opportunity Goten leapt up and out of the seat, fully re-energised and ready for more training.

"Sure thing."

"Alright! This'll work – I know it!"

Goten dropped back into a combat stance just long enough to have their training session interrupted once again by a quiet alarming noise, beeping from the control panel as if trying to notify them of something. The two shared a look of confusion as the saiyan sat back down, taking a look at the dragon radar's screen and trying to figure out what was wrong. After about five seconds of searching he eventually found it.

Strangely enough, the three-starred Dragon Ball had begun to flash, and each time it blipped on and off the screen that same alarm beeped another key. It was a Dragon Ball none of the four teams had gone after, so why was it flashing? What did it mean?

"Uh. . . That wasn't always like that, was it?" Goten asked nervously.

"No. It's the one that was on the move last time we saw it. If it's flashing, that means it's been engaged." Trunks recalled.

"Engaged? But how can any of us be fighting it right now? All four ships are right here on the map; they're all halfway across the galaxy from the three star ball! You think Uub or my dad used Instant Transmission?"

Trunks shook his head. "No. It's against the rules – they wouldn't risk it. That dragon said we come by ship only or else he destroys Earth."

"Well then who else could it be?" Demanded Goten.

Trunks took another look at the screen, watching almost hypnotically as the Dragon Ball continued to flash repeatedly. Somewhere within, the truth pressed against the back of his mind, but the logical side of the saiyan prodigy told him it simply could not be true. It was just a feeling – an instinct of something, and if anything he knew a saiyan's instinct would be unwise to ignore.

". . . Dad?"

* * *

"_Big Bang Attack!_"

Vegeta dipped further into a well of steadily depleting energy to fire off his spherical flame of ki and blast Broly square in the chest. Through the cloud of smoke that came from its inevitable detonation Vegeta attacked again, throwing punch after punch in a relentless onslaught to get the upper hand in this raging storm of a battle. He knew that for both of them this brawl had gone on for far too long and sensed that if he didn't act fast he'd be finished off for good.

The problem was that Broly had to be exterminated completely, which was made difficult considering the bestial saiyan's incredible build and massive supply of energy holding his overgrown bulk together. Vegeta on the other hand was much smaller and leaner; just one successful attack from Broly could knock him out for the count, yet the Prince would have to summon up all the ki he could muster if he wanted to win.

Vegeta slammed home a series of punches and kicks, pulling back just at the right moment to avoid a counter from the savage saiyan and sending his very own Final Flash in Broly's direction.

Even after he caught his breath though, Vegeta knew that he might as well have just discarded his energy - an attack of that level wouldn't even burn through the seemingly titanium-plated skin of the enemy saiyan – his only chance lay with the Crimson Oblivion. As Broly forced the Prince into another exchange of fists Vegeta wondered exactly how he'd achieve this, after all he'd failed to land a direct hit before and he was lower on energy now than he had been back then.

But so was Broly – he was injured with a sizeable chunk missing out from his left side. It rarely slowed him down and he seemed almost completely unfazed by the wound, but Vegeta knew that it _had _to hurt. With that thought, an idea popped into the saiyan's mind. It was a dirty, underhand manoeuvre that he wouldn't have even considered had there been any other way. But there _was _no other way; this was life or death.

Vegeta suddenly forced himself out the trade of blows by wheeling back into a smooth bicycle kick that grazed Broly's chin, knocking him off balance enough for the Prince to plant his other foot flat on the saiyan's Dragon Ball enhanced chest and push off with all his might. This way Vegeta secured the distance he required to prepare; he simply waited, hovering two hundred feet above the ground and a mere twenty yards away from a recovering Broly.

As he'd expected, the moment Broly regained his posture he headed straight for the saiyan Prince, lunging in a reckless dash at his maximum speed. Vegeta smirked as his enemy drew closer. He kept his right arm by his side, poised and ready by his side like a coiled python ready to strike, and when the moment arrived he did so with all the strength he could muster.

Setting his fist alight once more with pure white ki, Vegeta swerved his whole body sideways, dodging Broly's leading fist and putting himself in the perfect position to deal the maximum damage possible. His arm suddenly snapped up as he put all his weight behind a hook, burying his gloved white hand straight into Broly's wound with a punch that flattened the internal organs of the colossus.

For the first time since the fight's beginning Broly howled in pain. It was a deafening noise that would make even the most ruthless of fighters pity the man, though Vegeta instead chose to silence him with a following haymaker that sent the saiyan hurtling into a nearby cliff face.

Before Broly even regained awareness the Prince was upon him again. He hammered blow after blow with Royal Assault-fuelled strikes that left indentures and broken bones in the saiyan's frame, but he wouldn't be put down by that. Broken bones wouldn't render Broly immobile, which was why his eyes opened to a flash of harsh light expelled from Vegeta's fingertips.

Ringlets of golden-yellow ki suddenly constricted Broly's wrists and ankles, pinning him to the rubble that he'd created in his fall. He tried with all of his unrivalled might to force his way out, yet the harder he tried the more difficult it became for him – like pulling feebly at a technical knot in an attempt to untie it.

Vegeta smirked: He knew that any fighter with half a brain – even Kakarot – would've realised in a heartbeat that the trick to getting out of such an amateur technique was to simply focus energy to the points of restriction, namely the wrists and ankles. Broly merely tried to struggle his way out by sheer brute force, and he'd succeed eventually, but not before Vegeta managed to let off his most powerful attack. He ascended to a hover barely a metre above the helpless, laid flat saiyan beneath him as he arched himself at a downwards angle and pressed his hands together.

The Prince's palms suddenly spewed out beams of crimson radiance. The lightning bolts charging around his blazing aura spiralled with an increased excitement as red thunder surged into a nexus point between Vegeta's hands. With the technique dipping in further and further into his vital life force his strength began to wane; he'd never attempted a third, and even in its initiation he now knew that enforcing such a limitation had been a wise move - If he'd attempted this in the afterlife he would've surely exhausted his supply of ki completely and his existence would've been completely erased.

"_When I get out of this I'll tear you limb from limb!_" Broly spat, shaking with a manic rage and struggling to writhe free of his prison.

"I doubt it." Vegeta said. He tried to continue, yet his voice failed him as buckets of sweat trickled from his temples. Pouring more energy into his hands, the Prince tried again after composing himself. "You'll never leave this planet." He managed.

"You know if you manage that blast at this range you'll kill us both!" Broly seemed almost excited, as though he enjoyed watching the Prince struggle between his desire to win and his desire to live.

Vegeta choked out a final groan of effort as he heaved the very last reserves of his power into the blast. His hands trembled and hummed the noise of a supercomputer being switched on as the attack reached his prime. It had taken everything he had, but at long last the attack was ready.

Vegeta lowered himself just a few inches, placing his glowing palms flat on the surface of the namekian Dragon Ball protruding from Broly's chest.

"_Then I'll see you in hell!_" Bellowed Vegeta.

* * *

"_Crimson! OBLIVION!_"

The roar of the most destructive technique ever conjured by saiyan hands cried from the planet below, forcing Raditz to turn in shock back towards the tiny window at the rear of the small pod. Even from orbit Vegeta's shout reached them, accompanied by the flash of red from the planet below and the massive explosion that followed it. Raditz watched in horror as Vegeta's attack flattened almost a third of the planet, leaving an enormous crater in its wake and an aftershock that almost blew the saiyan's craft off course.

"_Vegeta NO!_" Raditz cried, almost smashing the window as his hand slapped against it.

"Calm down Raditz, he's alive." Came the static-ridden voice of King Vegeta, speaking through the ships' interlinked communication systems.

"How can you say that? Look what he did to the planet! We have to go back!"

"No Raditz, my son is alive." Assured the King.

"But how is that possible?" Bardock's voice buzzed into transmission. "I mean – how could anyone survive that?"

"I don't know but he did – Vegeta lives. He must've gotten away in time."

"Gotten away? Gotten away _where_?" Demanded Raditz.

"I don't know; I can feel his presence, but his location is shielded from my view."

Bardock sounded puzzled. "But I thought you could locate anyone in the universe?" He asked.

"I can, but there's something different here. Maybe he's blocking my senses or maybe he's in some kind of different dimension that I can't locate, but his signal is there. I can feel it"

"And Broly?" Raditz had to be sure.

"Dead as that god-forsaken planet. Looks like Vegeta managed it after all. We won't be seeing him anytime soon."

"Good – I don't know about you guys but I've seen enough of that traitor to last me a lifetime."

* * *

"It. . . It Disappeared. . ." Trunks could hardly believe his own eyes as the blinking red light on the radar suddenly blipped out, disappearing completely from space and leaving only five Dragon Balls for the group to search for.

"Does that mean it's dead? Did we win?" Asked Goten.

"I think so yeah. . ." Trunks whispered. The man then stood up from the console and made his way back to the gravity machine, ready to train again now that the drama was over.

"Hang on, don't change the subject either." Said Goten. "You said Dad – what did you mean by that?"

"I don't know." Trunks confessed. "Just a feeling I got."

"You think it was Vegeta?"

"I don't know, it's probably nothing, I'm just not sure who else it could possibly be." Trunks powered up to a respectable third stage of Super Saiyan and suddenly turned up the gravity, prompting Goten to follow his lead. The saiyan hybrid turned the wheel all the way up to five hundred times the Earth's natural pressure and suddenly rushed his friend in a bid to get them both into peak physical condition.

Fists rebounded as Goten suddenly flew a whole lap around the pillar-like gravity machine, gaining enough speed to land a powerful straight to Trunks's exposed jaw. Trunks had come to learn that taking Goten lightly was a mistake; he might've once been the most negligent and clumsy fighters of their sizeable roster, but he was the son of Goku after all, and it was easy to tell even through a simple trade of blows. Trunks had spent enough time with Goku in space to know that if even just a scrap of his blood had carried over then Goten would be a force to be reckoned with, though only now had the saiyan really pulled his finger out and begun to live up to such a reputation.

"It could've been Hyperion." He posited, blocking and incoming attack from Trunks and retaliating with a well-timed ki blast of his own.

Trunks dodged the attack and moved in for the kill, all the while carrying on their conversation. "If Hyperion managed to find his way back from otherworld then it'd be equally plausible that my dad did too." He replied. "It could've even been Raditz or Piccolo."

"Yeah good point." Suddenly Goten launched a fierce kick to Trunks's ribcage and followed up with a second to the chest. The saiyan recoiled a little and staggered off balance, yet it was the only opportunity Goten needed to begin harnessing a mass of energy. It was only when Trunks's wince of pain warped into a smirk did Goten realise he'd been faking, and before he could correct his mistake the saiyan felt an uppercut collide with his chin and propel him with such a force that he bounced off the reinforced roof before landing in a heap on the training room floor.

Fighting past the still-aching pain of his latest outbreak Goten staggered to his feet. He spat a small measure of blood through his teeth as he prepared to continue fighting. "So I've been thinking." He started. With no warning Goten suddenly attacked.

Trunks replied only by falling into a sequence of blocks and dodges, as Goten's surprise attack demanded his entire focus until he could speak at last. "Yeah I warned you about that." He joked, parrying a strike and retaliating with one of his own.

"Well I mean about that Super Saiyan 5 thing – _whoa!_" Suddenly the saiyan exhaled a gasp of surprise as Trunks backed off and blasted a huge wave of energy. He'd hurled himself out of the way instinctively, only to come face to face with another kick to the head.

"What about it?"

Goten struggled to regain equal footing with his sparring partner before continuing their conversation. "Well we barely got ten minutes as a Super Saiyan 4 last time, so a Super Saiyan 5 would put probably put us down to three or four minutes – maybe less."

Trunks spoke as the two continued their brawl. "Yeah I thought that too." He said.

"Our dads only managed to bypass it by having one of those potions and we don't have any."

"We really should've got some before we left."

"Or. . ." Goten began, forcing the fight to the ground where he had the advantage. "We could just try and finish the fight in three or four minutes." He suggested.

Fists clashed for a third bout whilst Trunks continued their debate. "That would be great, but let's face it; none of the fights we've ever gotten into have been over in three or four minutes."

"I guess you're right – _Kamehameha!_"

Seeing a gaping wide opening was all the encouragement Goten needed to fire off his father's signature blast of cerulean coloured ki that jetted through the ship like a rocket let off indoors. Swiftly Trunks powered up all the way to his highest, fur-coated transformation in order to avoid the attack, resulting in an explosion sounding by the pillar-like gravity machine behind him. The radius of the blast was contained by the ship's automatic compressors thanks to it being instilled with the same technology as Vegeta's own private training room, though apparently someone was hit.

"_Ow! What in the name of_-" Cried a voice.

Goten's look of adrenaline-fuelled excitement suddenly shifted into one of shock and the utmost confusion. Silence spread around the room as the two half-breeds exchanged looks of stunted surprise, though Goten's suspicions remained far more ludicrous than his saiyan counterpart's.

"Ship? . . ." He muttered, keeping his voice low for fear of angering it further. "Are you alive?"

"It's me you idiot." The voice continued as Kibito-Kai suddenly stepped out from behind the machine, dusting off his charred clothes and fixing his straight array of white hair that had been blown into an embarrassing mess. Being countless centuries old meant his appearance had changed little over the years, though his outfit had now changed into a lighter shade of blue, similar in cut to Gohan's signature battle suit.

"Kibito-Kai! It's you!" Cried Goten.

But the Universe's overseer was hardly concerned with formal introductions. The receiving end of a Super Saiyan 3 blast was hardly a joke to him. "You could've killed me!" He protested.

"Well that's what you get when you Batman-in out of nowhere when no one's watching!"

"Batman _leaves _when no one's watching." Trunks exhaled.

"Well whatever!" The saiyan threw up his hands in resignation. "The point is: what're you doing here? We haven't seen you in years! You don't call, you don't write-"

"I'm sorry about my absence Goten, but I've been busy."

"Busy? Doing what exactly?"

"Locating these." The coy demigod fished around in the pockets of his royal looking uniform for a short time before finally reaching his target. In his hand the man held a pair of rings, forged with a strange alloy that even Trunks had never seen before. Their surface was coated with a simple golden finish that ended with a magnificent looking jewel eternally bound to the metal. To Goten they looked like either the most fancy wedding ring ever created or a token piece of expensive jewellery for some overcompensating rap star.

Neither was the case; at a second glance Goten noticed that the jewels themselves seemed to swim with a throbbing, pulsating life force like the steady beat of a being's heart. Swirls of misty colour rushed to the surface of the gems, and the rings themselves seemed to emanate a small amount of ki. One of them was an emerald looking green, the other a pallid yellow.

"Kibito-Kai." Trunks said. He powered down from his sparring session and walked over the Kai, staring in wonder at the mystical artefacts as he did so. "What exactly are those?"

The Kai smiled. "The elder and I overheard your conversation about the limits of your fusion-"

"Uh-uh no way." Goten interjected, crossing his hands as a sign of rejection. "Trunks, you're a great guy, and Gotenks is incredible, but there's _no way _I'm permanently joining bodies with you."

Kibito-Kai's voice suddenly rose to a far more powerful and commanding tone in his attempt to correct the young saiyan. "If you would give me a minute to clarify!" He exclaimed. The overseer took Goten's sudden silence as his cue to carry on speaking. "Thank you." He said, voice returning to normal. "Now as I was saying: The elder and I overheard your conversation about-"

"I got a question!" Cried Goten. In just a few seconds he'd completely forgotten about letting the Kai speak. "So you're watching us all the time?" He asked. "Like. . . In the bathroom and stuff?"

"_Are you going to let me speak or not?_"

"Alright alright alright! Jeez, just asking!"

"Good, now as I was saying, the elder and I overheard your conversation about the limitations of fusion. . ." Kibito-Kai eyed Goten with a look of suspicion, and carried on only when he was certain the man would not interrupt. "And so I figured it was a good time to give you these. . . These are the rings of the first and oldest Kai in the galaxy – the Grand Supreme Kai, Daikaioh."

"Oh yeah! The guy Majin Buu absorbed right?" Said Goten, remembering the name from so many years ago.

"Precisely. For years he worked hard to combat the restrictions of permanence with fusion, perhaps in a bid to defend the Kais against Chronus and his Vynuls the first time they were at large; we were never really quite sure. My entire life I assumed it was just a myth – that he never got around to finishing them before Majin Buu laid waste to our planet, but the elder assured me that the legends were true: he told me that Daikaioh managed to finish the rings and scattered them to the farthest corners of the galaxy before Buu's arrival, lest the worst should happen and Bibidi use them to his advantage. For the last few years I've been trying to track them down. The elder told me that three sets were created – so six in total. I managed to find two of these sets, so I'm giving one of them to you two."

With his story over, the man strolled over to the two saiyans and gave each of them a ring, Goten the yellow and Trunks the green.

"I've actually had them for a few weeks now." Added Kibito-Kai. "But I knew that if I gave them to you before you set off then you'd simply argue amongst yourselves over which pairs got the rings, so we sat back and watched in order to deduce the right candidates for ourselves. We've chosen you two for the first pair but don't let it go to your heads - these are very sacred relics you two, so treat them with care."

"Can they break?" Asked Trunks. "I remember my father telling me that he crushed the earrings; if our enemy knows where our source of power comes from then they could target them to split us up."

"Not that we know of – they seem to be far more resilient than the simple earrings. Still, I wouldn't try and test that theory out if I were you."

Trunks held the ring up to his eye as he continued to inspect the artefact. "Yeah good point." He muttered. "So how do they work?"

"It took the elder and I a while to figure it out, but eventually we managed it. First, you put the rings on. It has to be on the same hand for both of you or it won't work at all."

As he tried desperately to push the scarring mental image of the two supreme Kais fusing out of his mind, Goten slipped the yellow ring onto the middle finger of his right hand as Trunks reciprocated.

Kibito-Kai proceeded. "Then all you have to do is force some kind of physical contact between the two rings, shouting 'fusion' as you do it."

Trunks let out a deep sigh and let his shoulders sag; why did these things have to be so embarrassing? As young boy he'd experienced no shame at all when performing such an act, though his progression into adulthood unfortunately seemed to have instilled him with Vegeta's sense of pride.

"Hey." Goten read his thoughts. "It's not half as bad as that silly dance right?"

"I guess so." Muttered Trunks.

With that, the two fighters took their places opposite each other and held up their hands.

"So it can be any kind of physical contact right?" Goten checked.

The Kai nodded. "I believe so, yes."

"So a fist bump would work?"

Trunks sighed for the third time and placed a hand to his forehead whilst Kibito-Kai simply cocked an eyebrow with a look of confusion.

"What's a fist bump?" He asked.

"Oh - never mind, we'll just show you. You ready Trunks?"

"Do we have to?" Groaned the saiyan.

"Yes! It'll be cool!" Goten insisted. "Alright let's go on three. One. . ." The two saiyans arched their elbows in a mirror stance, each one seemingly posed to hit the other at any passing second.

"Two. . ." Whispered Trunks. The pair made eye contact as their minds and in turn their most subtle movements synchronised together, a technique they'd perfected for the fusion dance.

"Three!" The last word suddenly sparked a simultaneous throwing of fists that collided with a clear ringing noise, echoing around the Capsule Corporation vessel and a few miles of desolate space. As the rings made contact the two cried out the command word within the last microsecond of the other, minds linked already. Now all that remained was to unite their bodies.

"_Fusion!_" They cried.

At once a heavenly light pooled out of the nexus point of the saiyan fist bump, lighting up the whole ship and sending a violent shockwave through its core. Kibito-Kai was immediately hurtled from the scene of the fusion and into the octa-glazed window of the cockpit. Fortunately it didn't crack; the glass was made to hold even the most powerful of Goku's attacks, though the alternative of a sudden slam onto a hard surface still racked the Kai's body with pain.

"Heheh, hey Kibito-Kai what's the matter?"

"Ugh. . ." The guardian hauled himself off the floor and nursed his head with his right hand where he'd hit the window hard. "Yeah. That sounds like Gotenks alright." He figured.

Finally the light subsided as the fighter's identity was revealed. Gotenks stood as a fully grown adult, clad a white set of loose fitting pants leading up to a blue sash tightening them in place. A muscled abdomen was left exposed along with his broad chest that would put even the most devout of bodybuilders to shame. His torso was clad only by a small, sleeveless dark jacket, though being a Kai breed of fusion he lacked the golden ringlets circling the shoulders of his metamorian counterpart.

His hair was also different to that of the original: rather than taking on Goten's super saiyan hairstyle and mixing the two colours together, this version of Goten retained Trunks's thinner and slicker look that only ever spiked out into a 'normal' saiyan array at the back. It had also taken the jet black that Goten had inherited all the way from Bardock and beyond, whereas only the tips of his tips of his hair were lavender.

"You _are _Gotenks right?" Kibito-Kai asked.

"Hmm. . . I dunno!" Said Gotenks, his voice a disturbing blend of the two saiyans. "I guess I should be called something different, like Trunkten, or Gotrunks!"

"Knock it off Gotenks." Ordered the Kai, sparing nary a chuckle.

"Oh I know! Gotrutenks Briefson! Yeahhh that's an awesome one!"

"As thrilled as I am about your new nickname I'd still appreciate your attention." Requested Kibito-kai.

"Oh, okay." Gotenks suddenly calmed and took a seat, prompting Kibito-Kai to raise his eyebrows in pleasant surprise; perhaps these two _were_ the right choice. After all, almost all fused warriors had a tendency to act silly and overconfident once their power got the better of them, but Trunks and Goten had practiced fusion so much that they knew exactly how to keep Gotenks's inhibitions in control.

"Alright, so you know virtually everything you need to know about those rings, however I've got one or two pointers. First, when you go into battle, make sure to enter the planet as one fused being. This should prove effective; first of all your enemies will be unable to stop you from fusing, and secondly-"

"I can call in for backup." Gotenks finished. With the mind of Trunks at his disposal he'd worked out the advantage rather quickly. "That dragon's leader – he said we could only come in twos, but if I'm like this, technically I'm just one person. I could ask for help from the other fighters who know Instant Transmission to board this ship before I land."

"Precisely. I'm impressed Gotenks."

"Gotrutenks Briefson!" Joked the man.

"Sure, anyway I need to tell you how to reverse it: like I said, it's not permanent like Potara fusion. To undo the process, all you have to do is take one of the rings off."

"Sounds easy enough." Muttered Gotenks. Since the rings had transferred onto one of each hand, the saiyan grabbed the emerald ring worn on his left and pulled it off.

Kibito-kai held his breath and braced himself for the blinding shine along with the violent shockwave that came before, though apparently neither occurred when the two separated. Instead only a loud popping noise filled the room as in the blink of an eye both fighters materialised where only one had stood before, crashing to the floor after losing their balance.

Trunks spared a look of puzzlement and turned to his best friend. "Gotrutenks Briefson? Why on Earth would you say something so ridiculous?" He demanded.

"_Me?_" Goten asked, appearing offended. "That was you!"

As the two legendary fighters took it in turns to bicker and squabble at one another Kibito-Kai couldn't help but smile, as he was the only one who could see Gotenks's trickery. With all his cunning, the saiyan fusion had deliberately said something so outlandishly stupid in order to make his subjects argue amongst themselves over who it came from.

"Alright you two, I take my leave now. Hopefully I'll see you again someday soon."

"Wait, Kibito-kai."

"Hm?" The overseer turned around, holding back an Instant Transmission as Trunks got to his feet.

"Someone was just fighting before you arrived and they took out the three star Dragon Ball. Who was it?"

Kibito-Kai sighed – he'd hoped they hadn't noticed that little detail. "You can put your mind at ease Trunks, your suspicions are confirmed: it was your father." He revealed. The Kai savoured the look of elation that Trunks and Goten had suddenly been stricken with, though at the same time he regretted how much more complex the story was about to get.

"So he's alive?" Asked the excited Trunks.

"Well. . . That's just the thing. . ." The guardian paused for a moment. "We're not actually sure."

"Huh?" Goten arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Vegeta recently made his way back to the realm of the living along with three other people, the first was your uncle Raditz, Goten. The other two are people you don't yet know: your grandfathers."

"Our _grandfathers_?" Trunks repeated. Unless Dr. Briefs and Ox-King had suddenly taken a trip to otherworld he presumed the Kai referred to their pureblood saiyan grandfathers. After never even hearing Vegeta say a word about his father he was surprised the two were even on speaking terms, let alone joining forces.

"That's right, the four of them made it along a road that made Snake's Way look like a baby's shuffle compared to the stride of a giant, but somehow they reached here in time." Explained Kibito-Kai.

"So my father is alive then, right?"

"Please, just listen." Said the Kai. "Upon their arrival the three were engaged by what you refer to as the three star ball, though it was recently renamed as The Dragon of Wrath. Vegeta fought against it, and when the battle came to its climax he asked the other three to leave so that he could fight alone and avoid risking their lives. He ended the battle with one of his attacks, but in the explosion he just disappeared."

Trunks lolled his head as his shoulders sagged. He knew it was too good to be true. "So he's dead again?" He presumed.

"At first I thought that for sure, but I have it on good authority that he is alive."

"Whose authority is that?"

"Your grandfather's, Trunks. The great King Vegeta is said to have the most incredible sensory range in the universe; he can use it to locate anyone he chooses from across the galaxy, and it also makes him a force in battle to be reckoned with. Even though I can't locate Vegeta, he still believes him to be alive. And since he has proven himself as our ally we have no reason to doubt him."

"That's great!" Exclaimed Goten.

Kibito-Kai smiled in seeing that the gloomy frown suddenly faded from Trunks's face. It wasn't much to go on, but a small glimmer of hope was all the man needed to believe his father was still alive – that he hadn't come back for nothing.

"Indeed it is." Said the Kai. "If you'll excuse me now I have to set off. I have a call waiting; another one of your old friends is joining the battle and I've been charged with picking him up." Goten and Trunks were each about to ask who the familiar face was before the overseer cut them off, waving a hand in goodbye as he executed the Instant Transmission.

"Farewell!" He called.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sup! So yeah, may as well deal with the title issue of this chapter first. Most of you were probably already of the restrictions of fusion before it was explained in this chapter, but just to clarify, both forms have pretty much been ruled out. I'd hate to permanently fuse two characters together and in keeping in canon with the series, the fusion dance would only give them a few minutes at Super Saiyan 5, so I made the rings to counter all that. The dance might get another return but I haven't planned the fights out quite so intricately yet: all I've figured out is who is fighting who, not the details

As for the Trunks and Goten sections – yes, I know there were a lot of comic relief sections and especially pop culture references. Part of the reason for that is during their scenes I'd almost always _just _finished writing another personal project that requires pop-culture references and name calling in just about every page. Another reason for it is this: We don't see it in Z because they're kids and we don't see it in GT because they hardly spend any time together, but I'd like to think that Trunks and Goten are total bros. I mean they grew up together and they save the universe together every few years. So for that reason there'll be quite a bit of them bantering back and forth and putting their quick wit to good use.

And oh my GOD! got an update - it looks awesome!

Of course the King is right – Broly is dead and Vegeta most certainly isn't. I wouldn't make him trek all the way across that seven month road just to get killed by the first dick that comes his way. But where is he? What is he doing? Find out. . . Soon! . . In Dragon Ball AF!


	7. Chapter 7 The War Begins

Chapter 7: The War Begins

Patience had always been one of the many traits that Piccolo possessed when compared to his hasty saiyan comrades, but his current ordeal put that virtue to the test. First he had to see the ruler of the underworld to grant him an audience with the great King Yemma, who had long since forgotten his promise made to Piccolo all those months prior. After finally being granted passage back he'd waited another two hours for Baba to finally show her face and after being sent back to some barren strip of land in some uncharted region of the galaxy the man had sat on a solitary rock amidst a warm, sandy planet waiting for the Kai.

Being able to fly at faster speeds meant that Piccolo had never taken an aeroplane ride, though he figured this was an equally tedious process: getting his passport checked, going through immigration and finally waiting for the damn plane to show up after too many delays. Usually he'd remain calm about such an affair, yet the prospect of battle just around the corner kept him on edge; knowing that his friends could be out there fighting for their lives whilst he sat and did nothing was maddening, especially with only the consciousness of the demon king clawing away at the back of his mind to keep him company.

Suddenly the distinct hiss of an Instant Transmission snapped the namekian to attention. Kibito-Kai had finally arrived, with his apparel scorched and his hair sizzled into a flared hedge.

"What kept you so long?" demanded Piccolo.

"Sorry," the Kai apologised. "I had to make a stop before I came here – that pair of saiyan halflings can be quite the handful, especially when they're fused."

Piccolo huffed. "Trunks and Goten?" he guessed.

"Correct. So how have you been Piccolo? I haven't seen you since-"

"Since I died?" Piccolo finished. He watched as the meek and polite guardian of the universe awkwardly scratched his head, trying to convey that he'd been busy and had no way to free him. The man had no time for such formalities; being a namekian, what other people thought of him had been a non-issue for him since his birth. "Oh yeah, I've been great," he added.

"Yes, I suppose it wouldn't be the best standard of living in the underworld. So how long have you got?" replied Kibito-Kai.

"They gave me a month – it's not much but it'll have to do for now. Come on, we're wasting time here, get me to-_ugh!_" Suddenly the green man felt his legs wobble as he pitched forwards, clutching his head in pain, subjected to a torture of sinister whispering and scraping from inside his skull. Whenever King Piccolo felt like it, the beast would launch an assault upon his mind that he had no physical defence against; the only thing poor Piccolo could do was fortify his mental defences – clenching his mind to put up a kind of dam that stopped the demon's influence from seeping through. A lesser man would've given in from the beginning, yet Piccolo's resolve was concrete; no one was getting through whilst he still drew breath.

"Get me to Earth," he managed at last.

"Are you okay Piccolo?" checked the Kai, seemingly oblivious to the man's experiences; apparently even the grand overseers couldn't glimpse the farthest depths of the underworld that Piccolo had traversed. "You look hurt, did something happen?" he continued.

"I'm fine. Just get me to Earth," assured Piccolo.

"Sure thing."

Granting the namekian the privacy he deserved, Kibito-Kai suddenly strode forwards and placed a single hand on Piccolo's padded shoulder guard, and in the most vivid flash of light the two had teleported halfway around the galaxy, back to the very footsteps of Capsule Corporation on the familiar planet of Earth. He hadn't seen this building in a long time – it had been three years since he'd been graced the sight of the goliath complex, complete with multiple domed, reflective buildings and an impressive skyscraper that served as the company's headquarters.

Now that he was alive again Piccolo had the urge to go and see Dende; to see how the young man was coming along. Yet then he reminded himself that every second counted – he had to get on a ship and set a course for one of the Dragon Balls as soon as he could. Baba had graciously told him of what had happened in the last few weeks on Earth. Apparently the planet was in chaos, with news coverage on the event twenty four hours a day and strange cults popping up every week proclaiming the apocalypse.

She told him of the namekian overload that followed the wish for winter's end, and with this information Piccolo had pieced this whole business together. It couldn't just be a coincidence that this had happened right at the time when six of hell's most notorious fiends had decided to take a vacation. If that was the case, he had to get out there and join the fight; just one of them had been enough to threaten the universe, but six at once was truly a force to be reckoned with.

"Will you be alright from here?" Kibito Kai asked.

Piccolo nodded. "Sure, I just need to find a ship."

As the Kai suddenly vanished into thin air Piccolo set off from the ground at a controlled hover, finding that within moments he stood towering over the entire complex of Capsule Corporation, looking down like a hawk over the land below him. The wind billowed at his altitude to ruffle up his signature opal cape; it was something he never realised how much he missed until it came back to him. There was no wind in hell, just a humid boil and an unbearable heatwave every now and again, making it a nightmare for a species that survived solely on water and an almost fatal experience to cross.

At last Piccolo's keen eyes locked onto their target: one hundred metres beneath him three spare ships lay comfortably nestled in the fenced-off back yard of the main building. He could've asked permission or at least said hello to Bulma before stealing one, but as always he left the courtesies for the humans – time was too short to mince words, and she'd understand anyway.

The grass shivered in the wind, parting below him as Piccolo touched down before Capsule five, gleaming against the sunlight in all its beauty. The ramp descended before him automatically to grant him full access to the engineering breakthrough. He'd only ever been on a spaceship a few times, but just one look assured him that he was in safe hands here; this was easily the best craftsmanship he'd ever set foot in, besting even Frieza's old vessels in terms of safety and speed by a mile.

"_Welcome Piccolo,_" drawled the feminine, metallic supercomputer of the ship.

"Sounds like I'm expected," he said.

* * *

"Alright Pan, I want you to hit me with everything you've got!"

On her grandfather's command Pan instantly powered up and rushed the saiyan hero with a barrage of strikes. A golden flash marked her ascension into a Super Saiyan as her modest ponytail split under the strain of her hair thickening into radiant spikes of the brightest yellow. Being the first female to ascend to such a level meant that Pan had placed herself under enormous pressure to become as strong as she could possibly be, hoping that one day she'd be able to beat the boys at their own game.

The girl threw everything she had at Goku, who despite never powering up still managed to evade every single one of her attacks, his face showing little effort. From her hands Pan suddenly flared a countless number of sting-like energy blasts, and even though they posed little threat to the saiyan she was grateful to the man for humouring her and dodging anyway. As nimble as a panther Goku flipped away from the barrage of attacks before doubling back in a fist-leading flight to hit Pan straight in the gut.

With her lungs temporarily ravaged the girl keeled forwards, gasping for breath and falling to her knees. Goku stopped and flapped around in a worried state of panic; apparently he'd gone too far.

"_Pan?_ _Pan! _Come on are you alright? Speak to me!"

As gullible as always though, Goku only realised at the last second that he'd been played for a fool. With her head lolled down he could see only the girl's nose and mouth beyond the cluster of golden hair, and a shadowed grin from her was the only warning he received before a readied fist suddenly came up from her side, delivering a hefty uppercut to send him back into the gravity pillar.

"Gotcha!" she called. After her attack had been successful the girl bombed after him to throw a dozen punches to his unprotected and unexposed body, though a streak of golden light cut her assault short. Faster than she could follow Goku had boosted himself into the first level of Super Saiyan and retaliated with a powerful kick to her ribs, hurtling her back down to the ground with a bruised side.

"Hey, that was really convincing!" he tutored. "You're getting better! You managed to make me power up!"

Wincing as she did so, the girl got to her feet. "It's still not enough – Goten and Trunks were way more powerful when they were my age."

"You're being too hard on yourself. Trunks, Goten and Gohan have all got more saiyan blood in them; they're half saiyan and you're only a quarter, so it's probably just more difficult for you."

Pan's shoulders drooped in resignation as she continued, "It's still no excuse. I'm still nowhere near powerful enough to go up against the Shadow Dragons."

"I'm not going to lie to you Pan; these Shadow Dragons are probably going to be on another level to anything we've ever faced before. I can't let you fight them when even I don't know if I'll be able to take them. But that doesn't mean you can't help out." The man suddenly warped from the sky to a spot two paces in front of her, putting a hand on Pan's shoulder. "I'm sure there's still going to be plenty of chances to fight, it's just not worth getting killed going after the dragons - leave them to me. Besides, Gohan would probably kill _me _if anything happened to you, and you don't want anything to happen to your grandpa do you?"

Pan scoffed, "Yeah right – like my dad could ever kill you."

"Hey, you'd be surprised," Goku laughed. "Your dad has been training really hard in these last years – I bet he'd give me a hard time even at Super Saiyan 5."

"Can I see it? You always train when I'm asleep!" Pan shot suddenly, catching the saiyan off guard with her directness.

"See what? Super Saiyan 5?"

Pan wordlessly nodded in confirmation, leading Goku to thoughtfully put a finger to his chin.

"I guess you've never seen it up close, huh?" he mused. "Alright then, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. After all, if it weren't for you I never would've become a Super Saiyan 4. I need you to get back though – for your own safety."

"Oh, uh – alright," Pan muttered. She took three steps back before looking on in anticipation once again, though clearly Goku wasn't satisfied.

"Further," he instructed.

Again Pan took another three steps back.

"Further – you need to be as far back as you can. Get behind the gravity machine."

Grumbling, Pan turned around and hid behind the device that controlled the ship's density. For all her irritation though, the girl knew that if she had to be this far away from him the transformation must've really been something to fear.

A satisfied Goku then hummed into the spikier form of the Super Saiyan 2 before transferring immediately to the third level in the blink of an eye. Less than a second passed before the amount of energy he put out had exceeded anything she'd ever felt before, granting him access to the ape-like Super Saiyan 4 with his power still rapidly growing. After just a few moments of his aura fluctuating wildly a fantastic white light enveloped the man, forcing Pan to shut her eyes out of momentarily blindness before it subsided.

Stood before Pan was Goku's most powerful form; a man so powerful that his aura virtually burst with a fiery essence as four pillars of lightning spiralled around him. His fur and the trim surrounding his eyes had morphed into the distinct orange of his signature gi whilst a new set of silver coloured, blue sashed trousers had been granted to him. Strikes of gold extended from his ribs and the muscles of his arms. His chest and shoulders were as firm and defined as she'd ever seen them, without being too big that they encumbered the saiyan and hindered his speed. His hair retained the same style as his Super Saiyan 4 variant, yet somehow it had thinned out into an even messier and leaner array of spikes.

She'd heard it from the others and been told that she could only understand it if she saw it for herself: the essence of a Super Saiyan 5 came in the eyes. Goku's, that had been a cat-like yellow at the fourth level, now glowed with an intimidating light, as if each one was a tiny sphere of ki that he'd conjured up himself.

"Alright," he said, maintaining his energy so that the aura disappeared. "You can come closer now."

Cautiously Pan crept out from behind the central pillar and made her way over to her grandfather. The amount of power emanating from him was a thousand times that of anything she'd ever thought possible; she felt like the microbe of a tiny piece of insignificant bacteria compared to the full size of Earth itself.

"Just be careful – it's hard to control my power when I'm like this."

"It's incredible. . ." she said in awe.

"It is, but listen Pan," Goku knelt down. At nineteen she was no longer so small that his kneeling put him on the same level as her, but it still helped him reason with the girl. "There's a good chance that the Shadow Dragons are just as strong, or even stronger than this, that's why I can't let you fight them."

Pan smiled as finally her lesson had been learned; the only reason he'd risked showing her such a form was to warn her away; to put into perspective just how powerful these new foes could be. She realised suddenly that going up against them would be a pointless affair – they could obliterate her entirely with just a sneeze if they so preferred. Even if she sacrificed her life she probably couldn't even stall them for a few moments.

As Goku powered down to a more suitable level the high pitched ring of a phone call interrupted their training session. With a shrug, the saiyan led Pan over to the hatch and hopped down the ladder, making his way over to the giant monitor nestled between the two settees. The green phone icon blipped on and off screen in synch with the chimes ringing throughout the ship; the call was from Capsule Corporation Headquarters – a call that had been sent to all four ships.

"Answer," said Pan, coming in behind him.

The girl's command activated the television, showing them a view of Bulma in one area of the screen and the ships in another three, though a fifth square was active this time, with only the phone icon quivering within it.

"Bulma, what's up?" Goku asked.

"_Argh! _I'm trying to figure out who's on the ship! Capsule five just took off out the blue!" she cursed.

The eight fighters eyed the screen closer with a look of eagerness, waiting for that fifth square to transform into a view of the ship's lower deck. It never did.

Gohan spoke at last, "Well whoever it is isn't picking up," he offered.

"Geez, you think?" said Bulma. "Computer, do a manual override on Capsule five: force an answer from their machine."

The fighters heard the familiar electronic drawl of Bulma's computer echo through their speakers as the camera of Capsule five suddenly flipped on, revealing an empty view of the lower hold. A pair of simple couches identical to the ones stood behind each twosome were the only things of interest as the nine stared blankly at the small square.

"So you just left the ship open Bulma? How did someone steal it?" asked Goku.

"No! Of course I didn't leave it open!" she insisted. "The ship has a list of faces and voices of fighters that it responds to, but everyone on its list either dead or already out in space!"

"Apparently not. . ." Gohan muttered.

For just the briefest instant, Goku could've sworn he saw a foot suddenly step past the very top of the screen right at the point where the ladders should've ended.

"There!" Goku cried; however by the time he'd pointed it had already left. "Did anyone else see that?"

"I did," confessed Gohan. "I don't wanna get anyone's hopes up, but I think that was-"

"Hello?" The distant call of a gruff, deep and familiar voice faintly resonated through the speakers; having heard the two voices of his closest friends, the namekian sounded alarmed. "Gohan? Was that you?"

"_Piccolo!_ I knew it!" Gohan cried. "Hey Piccolo! Over here! In the living room!"

Just a few excruciating seconds passed before the alien came striding back into view, resulting in a whole choir of elated cheers as voices screamed through the speakers at him. He'd spotted the activated screen displaying each living Z-Fighter and quickly deduced that the clever system that had been put in place to keep them in touch. In being part of a species that took joy in simplicity, it was rare for the namekian to be enthralled by something mechanical, but nevertheless he remained impressed.

"It's so great to see you!" cheered Goku. "But how? What're you doing alive?"

"I just got back; that old hag gave me a free pass the world of the living for a whole month, then I got a transport to Earth from the Kai." Piccolo explained. He ducked just a little to show the camera that a solid halo still hovered over his weighted turban. "At least I'll be able to be of some use of you before I go back."

"Be careful Piccolo; if you die out there then-"

"Yeah I know, my entire existence is erased and I can never come back to life," the namekian finished Goku's sentence for him. "I know what I'm getting myself into, and I don't plan on dying. I saw on that radar upstairs that your ships seem to be heading towards different Dragon Balls, so I put myself on a course for the seven star. How long ago did you take off?"

"We've only been out here two days," offered Krillin.

"Good – I'm not that far behind then. Have any of you encountered the Dragons yet?"

"Not yet," said Goten. "How do you know about them anyway? I thought you just got back?"

"Baba filled me in whilst I waited around at the check-in station and I put the pieces together, just listen for a minute: these aren't like the last Shadow Dragons – their leader, Alpha, hasn't just created new beings. Instead he's used the Dragon Balls to bring our old foes back to life. Six large powers went missing from hell not long before I left – it has to be connected," he revealed. Piccolo expected looks of fear and apprehension when faced with such news, but since many of them lacked the namekian's intuition they looked relieved.

"Is that all?" To Piccolo's dismay Goku appeared positively disappointed.

"Yeah, this should be easy!" agreed Gohan. "Enemies that we fought in the past should be a cakewalk now!"

"Idiot! Don't you get it?" Piccolo chastised. "Right now the namekian Dragon Balls are made of negative energy; and each one of them is attached to some of the most evil creatures that ever terrorised the universe! The more hateful and malevolent a being is, the more powerful they will become when infused with something like that; they're practically _draining _the energy from the balls to make themselves more powerful. Each one of them will be something to be feared: this Alpha, whoever he is, knows that he can use their hatred for us and turn it into a weapon!"

Finally the man's words sunk in as each fighter began to comprehend exactly what they were up against. This wouldn't just be a nostalgic go-around of old, washed up foes who posed no threat; with the power of a negatively charged Dragon Ball at their disposal they were more dangerous now than they ever had been in their original time of power.

"Whoa. . . Anyway it's a good thing you guys called," Trunks began. "We were gonna call you after we finished our training session but since we're all here now we may as well get it out of the way. We saw Kibito-Kai about twenty minutes ago – it must've been just before he picked you up, Piccolo."

Piccolo nodded. "Yeah, he mentioned you guys."

"Right. Anyway he gave us these rings that help out with fusion and delivered a message to us: apparently another group of fighters flew across a road that took them more than half a year to traverse to get back here in time."

"What, they got here _just _in time?" asked Bulma. "Did they know this was coming or something?"

"I don't know, but please just listen; they're all people we know. . ." Trunks paused.

Sensing his friend's hesitation about such delicate matters, Goten took over in Trunks's stead. "There's uncle Raditz and our grandfathers: the King of all Saiyans and dad's dad."

"_Raditz is alive?_" Goku asked, sounding ecstatic at the idea of his brother returning to life. "And my dad too? I never even knew him! Wait – what about Vegeta? If Raditz made it out then he must have too, right?"

Trunks cringed as the moment he'd dreaded finally arrived. With both his mother and Goku staring at him through the screen for an answer the man could only bite his nails awkwardly as he formed a response. Goten opened his mouth to continue, though a hand on his shoulder told him that Trunks wished to be bold and deliver the news himself.

"We're still not sure," he muttered, saving himself the look of shock on their faces by turning his eyes to his feet. "Some of you may have noticed, but about a half-hour ago the three star ball blinked out – someone beat it. That was dad." Noises of shock and bewilderment suddenly hummed through the speakers as Trunks continued, "Kibito-Kai said that the two of them fought, and that he ordered the others to leave so that he could fight without worrying about them. The planet was all but destroyed so he shouldn't have survived; only Kibito-Kai assures us that he's alive. The thing is, we're not sure where he is or what kind of condition he's in, we just have to hope he's alright."

As Trunks allowed his words to sink in Bulma took on an expression of equal sorrow and remorse. The idea of her husband coming back to her had been her only hope in these last weeks; it was the one thing that had forced her to work deep into the night on the spaceships - a project so massive that she nearly worked herself to death during the process. And now it was gone. As always though, a glimmer of optimism came from Goku to cheer her up.

"Don't worry about it!" he assured. "Vegeta's as tough as they come. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Tien nodded. "I hope you're right Goku. I've never been best of buddies with him in the past but I sure as hell know I'd feel a lot safer with Vegeta watching our backs."

* * *

Four days later

After an entire day of slugging away at each other without rest, Goten and Trunks trudged across the featureless ruin of an open moon, unnamed to the local planet that beamed its light down upon them from above. Two days ago they'd landed here to fulfil Trunks's promise and get Goten the training he needed on a place that lay surrounded by almost a dozen planets, reflecting their very own blutzrays onto the rocks below. The devices that Bulma had created for surviving environments without air clung to their sweat-soaked clothes.

During the two days Goten had made much process without ever maintaining a steady transformation, but they couldn't linger any longer; if they wanted to be the first to fight a Shadow Dragon they had to set off again within the day. As identified by the radar, the two had approximately a day and a half of flight time before they reached the planet which concealed the five-star ball – time that they'd use for rest, mental preparation and re-familiarising themselves with Gotenks.

"Trunks. . ." Goten muttered weakly, putting a hand to his forehead. "I'm not sure I can. . ."

After seeing his legs wobble uncontrollably Trunks suddenly swung around to catch the falling body of his friend as Goten pitched forwards. The saiyan collapsed out of sheer exhaustion, prompting Trunks to laugh as the soft rumble of a snore escaped him only seconds later. He debated waking him; though with the ship only a half-mile away such an act was unnecessary. He slung Goten over his back like a sack of meat and began the slow and arduous trek across the uncharted moon. Flying would've made it easy, but as a result of their training just walking was now a chore; flying was out of the question.

Eventually the lilac-haired saiyan reached their familiar new home of Capsule 3 after likening it to a mirage on the horizon of a desert for the last hour through a series of breaks and a shuffle of half-steps. The camera fixed to the outside identified him as soon as he came within ten feet of the machine, lowering the ramp for him and welcoming the saiyan with a greeting of "_Welcome Trunks, welcome Goten_."

"Yeah, sure thing." Trunks mumbled, walking over to the ladders and jumping down them to comfortably nestle the sleeping Goten on his favourite blue settee. He removed the saiyan's boots and unstrapped the device upon his wrist once he was sure that the airlock had recompressed the chamber before removing his own and tossing them lazily onto the spare couch. Heading back upstairs, Trunks then lazily hit the intimidating red button next to the Dragon Radar to set the ship off again, sitting down until they were out of the moon's atmosphere.

Following that, Trunks retired to the shower to get a decent soak and relax his muscles to ensure they repaired properly in time for their fight. Out of all the creeps who had threatened the Earth and the rest of the cosmos he wondered exactly who they'd be pitted up against. He'd never even seen the brute that the others referred to as 'Frieza' and he'd only been a baby when Cell had been at large; in spite of Piccolo's warning he couldn't help but hope for a match against the tyrant who'd unwittingly reawakened the Super Saiyan, or the created life form who'd managed to kill one.

Whatever the case, the bubbling part of Vegeta within him guaranteed that his upcoming match played over in his mind even as he got dressed and made himself a sandwich in the downstairs kitchen. He prepared another that he wrapped in film for Goten before heading back into the lounge, falling into the soft embrace of the free sofa and tucking into his meal. It was only after taking a third bite of chicken that Trunks realised something wasn't quite right. In his hunger and fatigue he hadn't noticed it before, yet now that he'd recovered some of his strength the outlier stuck out like a sore thumb.

The screen was switched on.

No video feed came patching through like it usually did, but the dark glow of eerie black light pooled out from the screen, joined by the buzzing static of a transmission. Trunks studied it hard as he put the sandwich down; realising a whole ten seconds later that what he looked at was not a blank screen, but the darkness of an unlit room.

"Wow you guys _really _are slow huh? Come on Trunks I've been waiting here for ages!" The sudden sneering voice from the wall-mounted screen gave Trunks such a jolt that he almost fell from the sofa. His eyes were not present this time – it was more as if he was speaking from a spot just off-camera.

Genuine laughter followed. "Come on I'm not that scary; don't get up on my account."

"Alpha. . ." Trunks whispered; now that he knew the name of their new foe he figured that the mystique surrounding him would be lessened, and as a result he'd be less frightening. He wasn't.

"Congratulations, you learned my name, who blabbed? Anyway it's not important now; what matters is that the game is finally getting interesting! I'm sure those meddling Kais have told you by now that my precious Broly was just taken out of the picture by your father," Alpha sneered.

"Do you know what happened to him?" Trunks demanded.

"Perhaps: maybe I do and maybe I don't. . ."

Trunks snarled and drew his sword; no one mocked him where matters of such importance were concerned. "Tell me what you know _right now _you son of a-"

Yet Trunks's final curse word never came to his lips, instead it only stuck in his throat as his entire body froze under the control of some psychic manipulation. Whoever this being was, his power seemed to even extend across lightyears – he controlled the saiyan's body like a puppeteer despite never being there in person.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" he joked, waiting for a reply that never came. "Good: save her for me." Another bout of sinister laughter brought an irritated hiss out of Trunks, struggling under the hold of Alpha's telekinetic capabilities as the dragon continued, "Now that wasn't very nice was it? Hmm, I'll tell you what: how about we point that thing somewhere else?"

Trunks could only watch in horror as his sword arm fought against his will to point straight at the sleeping Goten. He tried to drop the sword, but the more he tried the more his grip tightened around the handle of the double-edged blade. As his aim was drawn back into the pose for a lunge he tried in vain to warn Goten; to shout at him to get out of the way, yet only choked growls came from his throat as Alpha chuckled behind him.

"Say goodbye to Goten!" laughed Alpha merrily. Before Trunks thought of any way to stop he felt his right arm being pitched forwards against his will, straight towards the skull of his best friend. He couldn't move, speak or power up, he could only watch in helplessness and struggle with all his might, pushing against a weight that was vastly heavier than his own might could support. A matter of inches separated Goten from his death before Trunks's desperation allowed him to break through the barrier, just long enough to cry out a warning.

"GOTEN LOOK OUT!" he screamed.

With only a microsecond left to spare Goten jumped into consciousness and threw himself out of the way thanks to staring down the sharpened blade of his friend's sword. He was about to demand what madness had possessed him before the distinct sound of manic laughing from the plasma screen answered his question for him.

"_Very_ good Trunks – just as I expected: you saiyans _never_ cease to amaze." With his obligatory compliment out of the way Trunks's body suddenly returned to him. "If you'd have killed Goten I'm afraid I wouldn't have much of a challenge left for my good friend waiting down on the planet your ship so slowly crawls towards. Anyway that's why I'm calling you see – to show you exactly what you have to look forward to."

Upon Alpha's words the screen suddenly shifted from the darkest black to a view of a completely new scene. The image was like something out of a child's storybook; houses and rollercoasters and skyscrapers spanned for miles across some unfamiliar planet, all made from countless variants of chocolate, bubblegum and gobstoppers. Plumes of cotton candy smoked from the chimneys and tiny jawbreakers rained from the fountains on the ground. For a child it was the sight of a glorious wonderland, but for a Z-Fighter who'd lived through Age 774, the realm of an abomination.

A foe who frequently appeared in the nightmares of the two saiyans skipped past the screen, his pink and rubbery hands filled with marshmallows and fizzy sticks that he shovelled into his mouth handfuls at a time. If that wasn't confirmation enough, the pair both glimpsed their greatest fear: the five starred Dragon Ball had been protruding from the creature's stomach.

"My own little gluttonous pet," described Alpha. "Isn't he just adorable? I suppose now you know what you've got to look forward to!"

The pair exchanged nervous looks; with the exception of the Vices, Kid Buu had been the single most powerful enemy the two had ever faced in combat, but the clincher was that he'd been the only one the duo had been unable to defeat.

"Now don't let me down, I want to see a good show from you two!" roared Alpha. And with that, he was gone.

As the screen faded slowly into total blankness the two awkwardly took a moment to take in what had just happened. Since they were the first people to reach their destination, Alpha had contacted them specifically and omitted the others from his transmission.

"Fusion?" Goten suggested, extending a fist that was still ringed with the jewel of Daikaioh.

Trunks nodded, on the same wavelength as the black-haired saiyan. He knew that Alpha probably wouldn't manipulate their bodies again, but joining bodies at least prevented him from making them damage each other, and they'd need to fuse before they landed anyway. He held up his own right fist, clashing it with Goten's without thinking twice.

"_Fusion!_"

* * *

After not hearing the sound of an incoming call for four days straight, Uub and Tien were understandably surprised when their midday meal interrupted by the now familiar ring echoing throughout the ship. The two traded a glance and shrugged before getting to their feet and walking into the next room as Uub shouted "Answer!" with a mouth full of food.

The call had come in from Capsule 3, though the man who sat before them was neither Trunks nor Goten; the two witnessed the other pairs give the exact same squints of confusion as they picked up the phone and a camera view of their expressions came onto the screen.

"Gotenks?" Krillin asked. With the man's query spoken, each fighter then looked at the mysterious stranger in an entirely different light, realising eventually that it _was _Gotenks, however different he appeared. "What's with the new look?" added the bald man.

Gotenks looked himself up and down. "Oh, this? New form of fusion; gave me a better looking appearance. Anyway that's not what I'm here to talk about. I just got a call from Alpha, he showed me the person I'll be fighting tomorrow. I could probably take him by myself, but the only reason I'm calling is to be safe – I'm one being like this, which means that someone else can join me in the fight."

"Don't you only have about five minutes?" Gohan asked.

"Nah, the new fusion is something I can turn on and off when I want, it's quite handy really."

"Nice!" Goku clearly approved, though without a current fusion partner for himself Gotenks knew it would be useless to his half-father. "Anyway who are you fighting? Is it someone big?" he asked.

"It's Majin Buu. You can decide amongst yourselves who wants to join me."

_Majin Buu_: the very name sent an arrow through Uub's heart, but the notion that he was alive triggered something that he'd once thought dormant within the young reincarnate. Dread overwhelmed him as the petulant arguing of saiyans over who got to fight dimmed into background noise. He cleared his head and took a few moments to seriously consider, and with his conscience clear the man turned and headed straight for the next room.

"I'm going," he announced. It was rather out of character for him to be so insistent about something, meaning that the other fighters were left dumbstruck as he left the picture, Tien in particular. The triclops shouted after him as he retreated into the bedroom and grabbed a coat for the chilly vacuum of space.

"Uub, wait! What're you doing?" he called.

"Sorry Tien; I have to do this. I'll regroup with you when I get the chance." He suddenly raised his voice so that the people back at the monitor could hear. "Please, let me take on Buu. It's been the only thing I've thought about since Piccolo told us about the dragons. If I leave now I can be there within the day – I can survive in the void of space, and Goku you know as well as I do that trying to use Instant Transmission to get on board a ship going that fast is a bad idea."

With the confusion of the group keeping them busy Uub launched himself up the ladders and onto the main deck of the ship.

"Uub wait!" Tien chased after him, though the blast doors shut before he could follow the man upstairs. A few persistent shouts at the supercomputer then followed before Tien heard the mechanical clunking of the main ramp and saw Uub flying off into space through a tiny window. Once the ramp closed to a shut again the blast door reopened to grant Tien access to the training room, though Uub was already long gone; even if the man could follow him into space he'd never catch up. Uub's mind was set on this, and even if he didn't approve Tien knew that he had to stand back and let him work it out alone. He made his way back downstairs to the noise of warriors still talking.

"Are you sure we should just let him go dad?" Gohan checked. "I mean, he could die out there."

"Whether he's strong enough to win doesn't matter," offered Piccolo. Wise words came from the only being in the conversation capable of understanding Uub's dilemma, having done something similar himself. "What matters is that he needs to do this; and whether we like it or not, we can't interfere until it's over."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Hello! So Majin Buu is back! And there's going to be a fight! Yay!

And alright there is an obvious plot hole in this chapter: for those of you wondering why Goku and the others didn't just _ask _Piccolo which villains have been revived, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for your query: For plot convenience of course! I want it to be a surprise! It's no fun when you know who's making a comeback! Most of them you can guess anyway. The long explanation is that they did ask him; it was offscreen – I didn't cover it in the narrative :P

So there's Uub, Gotenks and Majin Buu – the fight gets underway, next time on Dragon Ball AF!


	8. Chapter 8 Duel of the Majin

Chapter 8: Duel of the Majin

After a final day of getting accustomed to his new body Gotenks powered down from a Super Saiyan to make himself the last meal he'd have before his fight with Buu. Of all the opponents he could've been stuck against he feared Majin Buu the most, so even with all his confidence and newfound power the saiyan fusion felt it unwise to underestimate the devilish looking pink wad of gum.

It wasn't until evening that Gotenks felt a faint trace of energy out in the vacuum of space, then a few seconds later the screaming aura of the soaring Uub raced past the ship's main window, pelting at full speed to the distant silhouette of an enormous planet in the distance. Gotenks shouted to the man before realising that the ship would no doubt be soundproof, and in the blink of an eye Uub would be out of earshot at the speeds he travelled anyway.

Only then did the young man see that Uub hadn't just flown past them without noticing; he'd come way too close to the ship to possibly miss it. No, he'd consciously skipped over them and headed straight for the planet solo, determined to take on Majin Buu by himself.

_This is bad_. Gotenks told himself. The black and lavender headed fusion made his way back over to the ship's radar with a twentieth chicken leg in hand, having the appetite of not one, but two hungry saiyans. He tapped the screen to get a closer look, finding that they'd be arriving in about an hour. With Uub's speed however, he'd be there in just thirty minutes.

Finishing his meal, Gotenks jumped down the ladders to the main living area and shouted in a commanding tone, "Conference call!" The man's voice, a blended together mismatch of two recognised fighters, was ignored by the computer at first before it eventually decided that the two had spoken in unison. The screen lit up with the four distinct quadrants of respective capsules across the galaxy, each one vibrating with a green phone icon until their inhabitants answered.

"I know there isn't much we can do about it now, but I figured I'd tell you all anyway," he said the moment all were present. "Uub flew right by my ship, and I believe he means to take on Majin Buu alone."

Noises of shock and fear for Uub's safety boomed through the twin speakers of Capsule Three, especially from Tien.

"That's crazy! Why would he do that?" he asked.

"The same reason we're all out here," said Piccolo, knowing the feeling. "Because he has to."

Gotenks shrugged and continued. "At any rate he's breaking one of the rules. Alpha said we're only supposed to arrive by ship, remember?"

"Then we'll just have to hope he lets us off or just doesn't notice," observed Gohan. "Judging from the other day he knows you two are on your way, so he might just figure that Uub came from the same ship."

"I'll be there in about an hour. We'll just have to hope he can hold out until I get there."

"Hold out?" This time it was Goku who spoke. "For all we know he could win before you even get there!"

* * *

After zipping through an asteroid field with incredible reflexes Uub found himself staring right ahead at one of the most magnificent planets he'd ever seen: A green world laced with streaks of pink and occasional pools of violet water, seeming to dazzle with light from the nearby sun that he felt was far too close for human comfort. After scoping the size of the planet Uub figured it was at least thirty, no, probably forty times the size of his own beloved Earth.

Alpha had no doubt found this extraordinary planet and placed Majin Buu there on purpose, so that if any fight should break out there between saiyans and the creature then the planet would endure without the hassle of a single mistimed blast sending it up in flames. He'd done this to get a good show, making sure that no matter the outcome, the fight would not be over in a heartbeat.

Well if he wanted a show, Uub vowed to give him a show.

The man held out his arms in front of him to shield his face from a surrounding belt of rocks that cut his skin to ribbons as he plummeted into the planet's stratosphere. Uub had to give him credit: Alpha had it all figured out. _This _was to make sure that if anyone tried to approach the planet by anything aside from a spaceship they'd be fileted and turned to dust by the asteroid belt before they even hit the floor.

However he hadn't factored Uub into his plan. Being a part of Majin Buu, Uub had relearned not only how to survive in space during the reign of Chronus, but also how to regenerate parts of his body. Having a skin made of tougher meat and solid bone meant that he'd never be able to regenerate quite so efficiently as Buu had, though if he slowed his flight to respectable speed the man found that his skin would repair itself quicker than the fragments of falling rock could slash it apart.

Further he dropped into the atmosphere as his body's weight suddenly increased under the pressure of just over a hundred times the Earth's natural gravity. He smiled; it could've been worse – one hundred times was child's play to any Earth-born warrior worth their salt. Still, the closeness of the abnormally large sun would do no favours for his stamina, and he doubted Majin Buu would sweat like his own flesh and blood body.

Finally Uub entered the planet, dropping in free-fall past a thick layer of rain pregnant cloud cover to a broad view of the surface. This planet, whatever its name was, was a vivid blend of colour as if child painter had splashed his whole pallet onto a blank canvas. Structures of blue and green rose high into the sky and chocolate skyscrapers caught his eye for a moment before noticing the streams of liquefied marshmallow that would serve as his landing pad.

The man swerved to change his course to avoid hitting the sticky river and landed hard on its banks into a small clearing, the ground beneath him caving in from his impact. Uub took a few moments to look around: Majin Buu seemed to have created his own little world of candy; colours that he'd never even seen before blended with those of the rainbow to coat a nearby town, its streets slippery with gumballs and melted chocolate that clearly were once the denizens of this huge planet.

_No time to waste_, Uub reminded himself. Holding that thought, the man stretched out his senses to locate the pulsating life force that he'd felt from space, only to find to his delight that it was already on its way. Within just ten seconds Uub's eyes caught a flicker on the horizon. He dropped into stance as Majin Buu approached.

With a sudden splash of gummy pink water Buu touched down, still scoffing his face with so much candy that a vent of angry steam was required from the openings on his head. He looked every bit as fierce as Uub had seen in his nightmares, with the addition of a Dragon Ball stuck into his chest to increase his power. He remained lean and muscular, comprised entirely of a body made of what appeared to be chewing gum.

A pair of plain white pants emblazoned with the arched 'M' symbol sagged down to his shins and remained the only garment of clothing hugging close to the angular form of the ancient humanoid creature. Hateful beady eyes and a rage-induced scowl found their mark, as with another vent of smoke Majin Buu turned to the frightened reincarnate holding his ground at the edge of the riverbank.

"Ah. . ." Majin Buu let out a low, hungry growl. "It's you. I wondered when _my _feast would come."

"_Your _feast?" Uub's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

Buu growled again as he stared almost lustfully after the reincarnate, striding out of the stream towards him. "Some of the others got tasty treats. Alpha said that mine would find me, now I know what he meant. Eating you should make me even stronger."

Uub gulped. "Well that's why I'm here. I wouldn't be in this world without you, so it's my responsibility to send you back to where you came from. My master Goku defeated you the first time which brought me into existence, so I guess it's time I repaid the favour."

Majin Buu suddenly threw back his head and erupted in laughter, making Uub recoil; as if the very idea of Uub challenging him was ludicrous. He swayed the elastic antenna that hung from his forehead back and forth with every exhale as he patted his lean stomach that never seemed to grow despite everything he consumed.

"It looks like this fight is personal for the both of us; if we're the same being it'd be a paradox for us both to live in this world," Uub figured. "If I win I'll have a clear conscience, and if I lose then you'll absorb me. . . Shall we?"

"Hnn. . ." Another low growl escaped Majin Buu. He looked the man up and down before licking his lips and cracking his neck. "I'm hungry," he said.

Without warning the mouth of the pink blob suddenly expanded into the size of his entire body as he made a rush for the steady Uub.

Fortunately speed was on the man's side. He dashed out of harm's way in a frantic burst of superhuman speed and readied himself once again, only to find the same high power intercepting him. Uub ducked as the ferocious kick from the incoming Buu sailed just over his head, sending the Majin careering into a nearby tree that appeared to be made from gingerbread.

Through the smoke Uub blasted out the signature blue beam that had been saving lives since way before his time, only to find his attack did little and only a pink ray of translucent energy retaliated from the unknown. Uub lifted his right leg as the blast singed the earth, leaving him in a wide open pose that looked as though he'd stepped on a slug until Majin Buu blitzed through the haze and fired a punch his way.

Feeling the impact flatten one side of his face forced Uub to swiftly put up his guard and as a result, leave his chest wide open to a gut-wrenching uppercut that catapulted him to the sky.

_He's fast! _Uub cursed as he evaded another of Buu's pink waves. He knew that to come on the receiving end of one of those would transform him into a harmless piece of candy, though he had the same trick up his sleeve. Extending two fingers, Uub concentrated a portion of his own energy to a fine point and blasted down at the ground below.

Majin Buu held his own, preparing to deflect the blast as Uub smiled; he'd taken the bait. It was only when the fiend actually managed to bat away the beam that Uub felt concerned. As his technique sailed harmlessly away to solidify a simple patch of grass the man wondered exactly what kind of power Majin Buu had at his disposal. Every single enemy he'd encountered had shown fear of that attack; even Chronus had the good sense to dodge it.

"That's my technique," said Buu. "Think it'll work against me?"

Uub snarled in frustration, gaining another pretentious laugh from his original entity. Being an expert at copying techniques meant that Uub still had a few attacks left at his disposal, but knowing which to use was maddening. His thoughts were interrupted however; as Buu soared up to meet his prey and powered the man into a lightning fast brawl.

Punch after punch after kick was blocked by the defensive Uub, yet for every attack he obstructed another slammed into his poor human body. Even when he tried attacking in a rapid succession of Instant Transmissions Buu still caught him every time, having the intuitiveness of combat to know exactly where he'd appear with every warp at the speed of light.

Along with the gummy pink fist of Majin Buu, an idea suddenly hit Uub. Suddenly he extended his fingers and crossed them over his face to initiate his sparring partner's attack.

"_Solar Flare!_" Upon Uub's command a photographic blaze of blinding light flashed from his hands. Majin Buu recoiled, clawing at those malicious tiny pupils and regaining sight only when the man had seized a fistful of energy and thrust it towards him.

"_Kamehameha!_" he roared. With a smile Uub watched as his beam struck the foul creature at point blank range. Burning gum sizzled away from his point of impact, boring into Majin Buu's flesh like a concentrated drill before finally breaking through and tearing a large hole through the monster's oesophagus. But Uub knew better than to think the battle over. In a graceful somersault Uub wheeled over and crushed his heel straight into the Majin's skull before he had time to regenerate.

Majin Buu slammed hard to the ground below, but rather than pursue his enemy further, Uub simply held his ground in the sky as his aura expanded into a silvery, everlasting torch. By now Buu would be regenerating that hole he'd punched through his chest, meaning that he had time enough to ascend into full power for the battle ahead.

His dark mohawk of hair rustled and wavered under the current of his own energy as muscles expanded past their norm for the man's lean frame. The pain such a change dealt on his body sent his nervous system into a frenzy, but with a powerful scream Uub fought back the urge to stop and continued powering up, stopping only when he'd reached maximum capacity.

"Now. . ." Uub cast his eyes downwards towards his enemy, only to find that Majin Buu had disappeared. For a moment he suspected the creature had fled before a growling head came racing towards him - only the head: Majin Buu's neck had extended to impossible lengths to chase down the bold fighter, with his body just out of eyeshot.

Like a snake hunting its victim the queer sight of Buu's head doubled back on itself after Uub's dodge to pursue him further into the skies. Like Uub, Majin Buu seemed to have increased his strength and speed with the downtime of their battle, and now he was faster than ever, leading his assault with his teeth bared, ready to devour the poor man.

However perfect his timing was, every punch Uub threw towards the bungee-roped head was swiftly evaded and met only with another painful headbutt to his blindside. He swung a kick into thin air, missing the dangling antenna of Majin Buu by only a hair's breadth as the creature rebounded in a chomping motion for his arm.

"_Super Kaio-Ken!_" Knowing that there was no other way to get out of a nasty bite wound, Uub instinctively executed a technique he'd seen only once from a distance. Even so, the presence of a crimson aura engulfing him and suddenly boosting both his strength and speed meant that the man could safely retreat during the short burst.

Majin Buu's head only followed him through the skies and snapped at his heels the moment his technique had subsided. Being only vaguely familiar with such a move meant that Uub's body crooned with muscular pain after just a single multiplication, though he still continued to fly in knowing that Buu was right on his tail.

Sparing a glance behind him, Uub noticed that Majin Buu's strangely elasticated neck had stretched after him for almost a mile with the speeds he'd been travelling at. _It can't go on forever!_ He told himself. In thinking this, another idea hit the young man. He made for one of the many candy-comprised skyscrapers that rose up from the nearby city. Once there he began circling rings around the spire, looping upwards and upwards as Buu's snarl followed him like a bad omen, coiling itself around every rotation of the building.

Round and round he spun about the structure until his head grew nauseous and his stomach began to churn, though still he kept one eye behind him. He watched Buu's neck wrap itself thinner around the tower like an elastic band around a bargepole, until finally the monster recoiled in a serious case of whiplash, his limits reached.

With a smile Uub finally turned around to see Buu's look of confusion plastered to a chocolate-paned window, and the following look of fear when he closed in for the kill. Golden energy circled his leading forearm; the same energy that he'd seen Goku use in one of their heated battles. As he streamed down towards Majin Buu with his arm poised and ready, the yellow impression of a dragon seared from his elbow, granting him with all the power he needed.

With Buu's neck now stretched into a paper-thin membrane it seemed like overkill to target it with a ferocious move, though he reckoned it was far more durable than he'd first perceived.

"_Dragon Fist!_" A roar of power from Uub accompanied that of a fearsome dragon as he pounded the squishy flesh of Majin Buu's neck, severing his head for an easier target. Uub then turned from the fizzy, sugary rain of the collapsing building to deliver a violent football kick at the hovering head, propelling it to a far enough distance that he felt it safe to borrow one of Vegeta's abilities. Cupping his hands together, a crack of yellow thunder escaped his palms before he let fly another volume of energy.

"_Final Flash!_" Vegeta's signature volley of ki suddenly rocketed from Uub's hands to tear up a fantastic explosion of smoke and dust at the site of Buu's flailing head. In spite of his small victory though, Uub knew he didn't have any time to celebrate. He scanned around frantically with both his eyes and senses to locate the rest of his enemy's body.

_Damn! Where is it? _He cursed. Suddenly his question was answered by a flying knee being driven into his back, knocking the wind out of him even from behind and making him stagger forwards with one spit-laden exhale. Clearly Majin Buu's body had set off the moment he felt his head being severed to land his sneak attack.

Uub only answered his pain with another burst of determination forcing him back to his knees, turning into a fierce retaliation against the headless Buu. His attack was halted however, as from the ashes of his destruction the reconstructed head flew out of the debris, sinking his teeth right into the left arm Uub was about to throw.

The man let out a cry as another fist came slamming into his jaw. He punched the stumped head with his right hand repeatedly to try and free himself, though Majin Buu had clamped down his jaws with an iron grip, clinging urgently to his arm like a persistent rabid dog. He'd need the freedom of both hands to pry those teeth away, and with its stubborn insistence coupled with the brutal onslaught of the headless counterpart such freedom was denied.

The man rapidly searched through his whole library of available techniques in the desperate hope that he could find something useful. He searched through his list by fighter. _Goku? No. Vegeta? Nothing. Piccolo? No. Gohan? No. Trunks? . . That's it!_

"_Echo Force!_" he cried. The copied technique from Trunks's moves suddenly burst from the body of the desperate man, materialising as a silvery dome of translucent ki that expelled his foreign invaders. Being protected by the surrounding orb of light meant that when Buu finally reattached himself back together and flared a hailstorm of projectile blasts, they simply bounced back right at their maker and blew up on impact.

Yet with a limited knowledge of the skill Uub found that he could only maintain the forcefield for just a few moments, and so he decided to conserve his energy. Expelling the sphere into nothingness, Uub suddenly rushed straight back into the smoke with a flying fist. His attack connected perfectly to the temple of the swiftly regenerating Majin Buu, and after pursuing him with a burst of Raditz's Kaio-Ken he followed up with a double fisted, overhand pound.

Uub smiled as Buu crashed through the candy-laden structure; he fell over forty stories through solidified chocolate and rock hard gumball surfaces to the ground below with an almighty racket as he landed, temporarily dazed. After just a second had passed though, Uub suddenly found himself clutching his chest as his breathing slowed to a series of gasps.

The Echo Force, the Final Flash and most importantly the Super Kaio-Ken; none of them were his moves. As a result of taking on attacks he hadn't mastered the man found his own body had begun to turn on him, exhausting his supply of energy from his wasteful inefficiency. Even in such a short battle he'd already neared his limits, whereas Majin Buu's speciality had been apparent from the get-go:

Relentless attack.

Even when he seemed down and out, Majin Buu's second to none regeneration skills and the seemingly unlimited supply of energy he possessed ensured that he could fight for days if necessary. It struck Uub that if he was to win he'd need to rely on his own skills. Fortunately, he had just the thing. After glancing back to the floor to see if Buu was still down, Uub grabbed his already healing arm with his right hand, holding out his left in front of him as a small bundle of ki crackled to life.

He'd created the technique during the three years since Chronus's defeat. Being marvelled by the destructive force of the Crimson Oblivion, Uub knew that he'd never be able to pull off such an attack, and so he'd simply come up with a move that achieved a similar effect. It exhausted almost his entire supply of energy, yet its power was beyond anything he'd copied from the others.

After a few moments of the snapping hiss of lightning bouncing around his fingertips, a tiny sphere of ki no bigger than a table tennis ball sprung into existence, nestled comfortably in the palm of his hand like a precious pink gem. He'd designed it for dealing with multiple opponents rather than just a single foe, but it still should've got the job done.

Several exhausting heaves and a cry of pain later the attack was primed. He took aim at the ground and used one final check with his senses before finally realising to his horror that Buu was no longer there. Just hanging on to the tiny ball of energy was a trial that sucked away at his life force, but Uub knew he couldn't make another; he had to find Majin Buu and hit him with the full force of his attack before it was too late.

The smothering embrace of a warm, sticky and moist texture wrapping itself around his leg suddenly forced Uub to whirl around in shock. A feeling of horror overwhelmed him as the disgusting sensation was only amplified by the goo spreading fast up his leg, engulfing him from the waist down and slithering up his torso. Despite never seeing this technique before, some conscious part of Uub simply _knew _that this was Majin Buu's absorption ability.

It a vile technique that Uub had never employed nor had any desire to even if he could. Buu would detach a small piece of himself and latch onto unsuspecting foes before sucking them up and draining their powers for himself. Seeing him now, Uub noticed that he'd tore off a chunk of his leg to accomplish this, but it wasn't too late.

The man pulled back his left hand and launched it forwards with all his might, calling out its name as he did so. "_Ato-_" As much as he tried to launch off the attack though, the blast simply would not budge from the palm of his hand. Looking down, Uub realised that the pink layer of gum had extended right up his torso and consumed his entire left arm. Try as he might the man's ability to let his technique loose had left him along with all mobility of his arm.

When he realised finally that it wouldn't work he tried only to free himself from the sticky embrace of Buu's ability. The gum spread in a torturous, deliberately slow fashion to his neck to choke all air from his windpipe before finally spreading to cover his mouth, denying him the luxury of even screaming. But where despair had taken over, Uub glimpsed the smallest slither of hope on the horizon. His last sight before being blinded by a pink eternity was the magnificent sky, mired only by the sight of Capsule Three breaking through the cloud cover, on a collision course for the planet below.

_Gotenks. . ._

* * *

After an uncomfortable transition through the planet's atmosphere Capsule Three struck the planet's surface like a wayward flaming comet. Four stilts from the ship's underside flipped out right as they hit the ground to protect it, resulting in a lurching pain lashing right up Gotenks's spine. He nursed his aching tailbone before unstrapping buckles and groaning to his feet, swinging his arms to loosen up as he did so.

_Guess Bulma didn't take landings into account_, he figured. _If I was a normal human my backbone would be halfway out of my neck right now. I suppose she knew I could handle it. _"Computer! Give me a detailed report of the planet," he called out suddenly.

"_Planet X – name: unknown,_" replied the machine. "_Orbital period: Six years. Radius: approximately two hundred and fifty thousand kilometres. Day length: three and a half earth days. Suns: one. Moons: two. Satellites: none. Surface temperature: forty degrees centigrade. Surface Gravity: one hundred and twenty six G. Population: one."_

"Looks like the battle's already over, but who won?" he muttered to himself. "So I can go out there right?" he added.

"_Oxygen levels are slightly less than that of Earth, but_ _it should be inhabitable. However the high temperature and gravity would be too great – your whole skeletal structure would be crushed."_

"What was the pressure again? One hundred and twenty?"

"_One hundred and twenty six times the Earth's normal gravity_," stated the female voice, unknowingly berating Gotenks with its matter-of-factly tone.

"Then it should be no trouble at all. Lower the ramp, and the rear airduct too - I wanna try something out."

"_Of course sir._"

As the sealed airlock door suddenly decompressed in a haze of pearly white steam before him, Gotenks spared a double-checking glance towards the control panel to his right. As he'd seen before, they were right on top of the five star's last known location. If he was still alive out there, Majin Buu would be close.

The burn-inducing glare of the planet's gargantuan sun suddenly spilled into the hub of the ship and washed over Gotenks like a desert heat. Once his eyes had adjusted to the sudden presence of natural light though, the first thing he noticed wasn't the child's fantasy of a candy coated city. It was Majin Buu, sat nonchalantly eating chocolate atop a rock of cake ten metres away. He pretended not to notice the approaching saiyan and gave only a dismissing wave of his hand as the ramp to Capsule Three slammed shut behind the man.

One look at Buu told Gotenks that this was his final form; the shape he took when he'd stripped himself of all hindering powers like the Grand Supreme Kai, but something else was different too. He was far bigger and bulkier, gaining a few inches in height and taking on a shade of blood red. Along with the malicious power he sensed from the Dragon Ball protruding from his chest, another, more familiar power had been added to Buu's strength. His gut told him exactly what had happened, though he had to be sure.

"What happened to Uub?" he asked.

Majin Buu croaked out a belch and swallowed another fistful of candy before finally replying. "Was that his name?" Buu licked his lips and giggled cruelly. "He tasted great."

That settled it; the power Gotenks had felt was Uub's. Buu had absorbed him and added Uub's strength to his own. Any other candidate would've slowed the Majin down and significantly weakened his power, but since Uub was technically another side of the same being, Buu had transformed into an even more terrifying, complete form after devouring him.

"You might not remember me, but I remember you. My name is Gotenks." The saiyan furrowed his brow into a low glare as Majin Buu finally turned to give him a look over.

"I remember. What do you want?" Buu asked, remaining absent as he scoffed his face.

"I'm here for a rematch, and to rescue my friend. . . Basically. . ." Gotenks drew Trunks's sword by his side and grinned. "I'm here to kill you."

In a wrathful tantrum Buu suddenly turned from his meal and blasted off an enormous wave of power. As a green rocket homed towards the saiyan fusion Gotenks did nothing. As expected, he was overwhelmed by an intense explosion that managed to scorch the outer layer of Capsule Three. Satisfied that his negligence to transform had granted him an early death, Buu grinned; a smile that turned into a laugh when the shredded clothing, broken pieces of flesh and splatter of blood was revealed to be all that remained of the man after the dust finally settled. Buu's sudden change had certainly granted him with enormous power – more than he'd even imagined; taking out Gotenks with a single blow meant that he'd be powerful enough to challenge Goku, the man who'd sent him to hell.

Apparently though, he wasn't powerful enough.

"Now that was rude. I didn't say we could begin yet." The multi-toned voice of the two saiyans sounded again, forcing Majin Buu to take a look behind him. There Gotenks stood, but he was also there to his left, and to his right as well. Worrying, Buu glanced back to the sight of the remains only to find that nothing awaited his gaze save for the simple crater of his failed attack.

All three Gotenks then readied swords for attack before speaking in unison. "Yeah, my ghosts have become pretty convincing over the years haven't they? Take a guess: which is the real me?"

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are!" snarled Buu. "I'll kill you all!"

Gotenks smiled. "Like this, you probably could. I'll admit, there's not much I can do in this form," they said, each throwing aside their orange jacket for full freedom of their arms. "But tell me Majin Buu, have you ever faced a _Super Saiyan 5 _in combat before?"

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Had major troubles getting motivated to do this chapter, so apologies if it's not up to standard. The reason? Well, I'm not a big fan of either of these two characters.

Uub is a character that was hyped up in DBZ to be this big deal but then kind of got sidelined when GT came around, I mean he had only like one fight which he ended up losing. Really the only things significant about him are the fact that he's very brave, very loyal and very humble. Then again, this is Dragon Ball – that hardly distinguishes him from _any _other main character in the show! So yeah, didn't have much to work with on him. Plus he doesn't really have a unique fighting style like the others so I had to give him one – in his first appearance he copies both the Instant Transmission and Kamehameha from Goku after seeing them only once, so I figured I'd give him a kind of copycat technique where he's like a jack of all trades.

Same really goes for Buu; he's good but he's easily got the weakest personality from the four Dragon Ball Z villains. Cell was ambitious and really cunning when it came down to it, Frieza had the whole faux-polite persona that slowly turned to rage the more his plans got shot to shit and Vegeta was ruthless, essentially the polar opposite of Goku and an all-around badass. Majin Buu really doesn't have anything that stands out except for the fact that he's angry and hungry all the time; and it's hard to write dialogue for him that sounds in-character when he's got very little dialogue to go off in the first place. Still, it was easier than writing Broly.

I guess it's probably for the best that I get my least favourites out of the way first. Besides, Gotenks has arrived and he's a lot of fun. In the next chapter I've made not one, not two, but three new techniques for the fighters - well actually one's more of an upgrade (the ghosts). A drawing Gotenks as a Super Saiyan 5 should be up with the next chapter as well so stay tuned!


	9. Chapter 9 Following in their Footsteps

Chapter 9: Following in their Footsteps

The air before each rendition of the saiyan Gotenks distorted into a wave of blurry wind as each ghost began to ascend. Translucent energy flickered and flared like an indecisive torch as they ascended into the legendary form of the Super Saiyan before rapidly bulking up even further to become the thunderously charged Super Saiyan 2.

With the mind of Uub now absorbed into his system, the new, red Majin Buu no longer retained the dense outlook of his pink predecessor. He knew that one of his comrades, Broly, had been given the power of the Super Saiyan 5 as a blessing from Alpha, and he'd seen its incredible power first-hand. As sure as he was in his own strength, Buu knew that if Gotenks's claim about attaining such a power was true then it would be best if he prevented him from ascending to such a level.

He blasted one of the three Gotenks with all the power he could summon up in a second. To his dismay though, this one had been one of his kamikaze ghosts. It erupted in flames as the two remaining ascended higher, eyebrows fading into a pronounced brow ridge and hair flowing down to meet the back of the fusion's knees.

Super Saiyan 3 had been accessed already, and so with a wave of panic Buu fired another volley of ki towards another. Just as before, smoke and fireworks remained the only thing that answered his attack; this one had also been a fake. Only one Gotenks remained, and within just another blink of the eye his power had swelled to grant him with a coat of fur and eyes a light shade of blue.

Buu knew that this was the real Gotenks, but at such a level it would take more than just a careless swing to deal with him now. Having learned the technique from absorbing Uub, Majin Buu cupped his hands into a loose ball as a sphere of glowing energy formed between his palms. He charged the attack as fast as he could, though with Gotenks's eyes brightening in colour by the second he knew that time was short.

He'd seen those eyes before; those glowing, fierce eyes without pupils that Broly had exhibited the moment he'd received his power up. As soon as they flared to life entirely the transformation would be complete, and Buu vowed not to let that happen. As Gotenks screamed in fury the ground beneath him quaked and pebble fragments slowly rose to the sky under the pressure of the energy he put out, though Buu's attack had neared its maximum.

With a final shriek of hatred Majin Buu pushed forwards the Kamehameha wave, which tore up the surface of the planet along its devastating path and careered headlong into Gotenks before dealing an explosion that left a crater so massive that it could be seen from space. As the dust settled Buu panted in fatigue, still left in the pose of the Kamehameha as he stared past the misty veil with a look of anticipation.

An open, blank expression from the creature then morphed into a look of wondrous joy; he'd done it. The blast had completely annihilated every cell of the saiyan hybrid. It had taken him the destruction of a few ghosts and the expenditure of some precious energy, but Majin Buu had stopped Gotenks from his transformation into a Super Saiyan 5.

Or so he thought.

The sudden roar of two conjoined voices forced Buu's eyes to the sky as a fully ascended Gotenks swooped down from above with his sword in hand. No matter how much sharper Buu had suddenly become, he'd never even considered what was now an undeniable truth: all three of them had been ghosts. The real one had been hovering not too far above him in the sky, using the mirages he'd created to buy himself enough time to transform.

Unable to dodge the incredibly fast saiyan meant that Buu felt every ounce of pain as the sword of Trunks hacked through him right down the middle. His vision split into two before Gotenks continued his assault, slashing away with relentless strikes until Majin Buu finally managed to reform, only to be met by a powerful blunt attack from the free left fist of Gotenks.

With one side of his face flattened inwards, the monstrosity sailed far into the banks of the crater he'd made with the Kamehameha, the diameter of a small moon. Emerging finally meant that Buu finally got a proper look at his adversary as Gotenks took a moment to simply stand slap-bang in the middle of the planet's hollowed-out scar, admiring his new strength.

His muscles had expanded to the point where they could get no bigger, as his whole physique had achieved perfection in its new form. An auburn, reddish brown colour had painted his fur, contrasting against those apathetic, sky-blue eyes that glowed like blasts of energy, peering right into the Majin's soul and wrenching out his most intimate fears for all to see.

Similar to his most basic form, Gotenks's hair took on a shade of traditional saiyan black with Trunks's signature lavender dyeing its tips. At the front it remained sophisticated and combed into an array of thin spikes, yet at the back it flurried out into Goten's unruly wave. His body had taken over a similar state of confusion, with a trio of white stripes extending in a cross from his abdomen coupled with a golden design of tribal markings to decorate his upper arms.

"_But how?_" spat Majin Buu. "How did you acquire that power? Only three saiyans are capable of that transformation, and _you _aren't one of them!"

"Oh, this?" Gotenks turned his body to the creature, hardening his stare that looked intimidating already. "I've got my two composites to thank for it. They worked themselves to the brink of death in order to give me this power. The least I could do was to repay the favour and beat up that giant ape to access the Super Saiyan 5; it didn't take me long at all – piece of cake really."

Frustrated, Buu launched his rosy beam of pink, candy-turning energy at the saiyan. Gotenks casually sidestepped it as another was thrown his way, to which a simple sweep of his body into limbo evaded it again. As Buu's expression contorted into a savage snarl he attacked again and again, the small antenna on his head blinking on and off with every ray it produced. Whether from twisting his shoulders, stepping away or a simple hop, Gotenks evaded every single one until a precise blast made for his chest.

A sudden flash of the purest solar light blinded Buu momentarily, as the massive sun's radiance briefly bounced from the surface of the smoothly raised sword, deflecting the beam harmlessly into the sky. As cocky as he was, Gotenks knew that letting such an attack hit him would be unwise. With his last attack Buu finally stopped, allowing the saiyan a moment to inspect the edge of his smoking blade.

"Honestly I think this is what the others were missing when they last fought you," Gotenks said, admiring the instrument of death. "Your body is so soft and squishy - a good sword is exactly what they needed."

Before the Majin thought up an acceptable response, Gotenks disappeared from his view and left only a sonic boom in his wake. Gusts of powerful winds rushed towards him along with the form of the blindingly fast saiyan, and before Buu could move to defend himself Trunks's blade had been stabbed through his shoulder, searing down through his right clavicle before exiting smoothly by his left hip, cutting him in half diagonally until a fist met his upper body.

As he spun through the air Majin Buu temporarily lost sight of the man. He began to redevelop his legs and steadied himself into a controlled hover, though Gotenks was upon him already. The man approached in a blind rush and a smile found Buu's lips. Another wave of pink light rocketed from his antenna, and in his eagerness the saiyan found himself caught in the blast before he had time to dodge.

Light spewed out in all directions as the fusion was shrunk into a flat bar of solid chocolate. Buu grabbed the falling treat and inspected it. Where once a grin had formed though, Majin Buu's smile suddenly warped into a look of horror. The bar was carved out in the shape of Gotenks as he'd expected, though with his legs forming into a wispy tail and his tongue extended in a cheeky expression of mocking, Buu's new mind prevented him from eating it.

He threw the bar as hard as his power would allow him as the solidified kamikaze ghost glowed with energy, blowing a new crater in both the ground and the left half of Majin Buu's face.

"Tut, tut, tut." Gotenks descended slowly to ground level behind him, allowing Buu to turn and ready himself. "Come on, you really think I'd be defeated _that _easily in this form? Take your eyes off me for one instant and I can conjure an exploding ghost by the time you look back. You never know; maybe _I'm _a ghost. Maybe the real Gotenks is coming up behind you right now with a blast big enough to wipe your vile existence off the face of this planet."

With a yelp in terror Buu looked over his shoulder into nothingness, giving the bluffing Gotenks the opening he needed to traverse twenty metres and dice Majin Buu into eight distinct segments. Buu's reform was then met with an uppercut that the saiyan had charged up during his dissection, and after sheathing his sword Gotenks pursued him to the skies, pummelling away with blow after blow before hammering him back down to the planet with a wheeling, crushing kick.

Actively taunting him, Gotenks landed and sat down for a while as he waited for Majin Buu to push himself out of the hole that his impact had buried him into. Tired, blurry-eyed and hungry still, Majin Buu's temper had evolved from irritated to a complete rage. Steam vented in a display of helpless fury until an idea struck the creature – Uub's intelligence had been worth something at least.

"You can't kill me," he stated at last.

"Hm?" Gotenks stood up and tilted his head.

Buu smirked; he had everything worked out. "Your friend is a part of me now. If I die then he goes with me!"

Gotenks sighed and nodded his head. He hated to admit it, but killing him just yet was out of the question. "You're right," he admitted, shrugging. "I can't kill you, not until I get Uub out safely. Unfortunately fusion doesn't work inside you, and if I remember rightly, Vegeta told me that the tools for them would disappear the moment I go in there. I can't afford to lose these rings."

* * *

Twenty Three Years Ago

"Hey dad," said Trunks, struggling to keep up with Vegeta's incredible standards of gravity as a Super Saiyan. Even just a few weeks after Majin Buu's destruction, Vegeta was still training with every spare minute. "You know when you and Goten's dad beat up Buu?" Trunks continued. "I forget - how come you didn't use fusion to destroy him?"

Vegeta paused from his rapid flurry of punches and kicks into thin air and turned to his son. "Kakarot and I separated the moment we were consumed by Majin Buu," he answered.

"Yeah, but why didn't you fuse again as soon as you got out of there? Surely it would've been easier than making that giant Spirit Bomb."

Vegeta recoiled momentarily as the moment he'd crushed the earrings came back to him in a flash. With his saiyan pride he was safe in the knowledge that he'd prevented an abomination like fusion. However, his own son knowing that he'd actively destroyed the only hope they had of surviving was another matter; and after his disgraceful actions at the World Martial Arts Tournament he couldn't give Trunks any reason to distrust him further. So he lied. Slipping into an obvious poker-face, Vegeta finally replied. "The earrings we used for fusion also vanished when we were absorbed."

"That doesn't make sense," Trunks stated. "Why would they do that?"

"_Well I don't know do I?_" hastily snapped the Prince, intimidated now that he suspected Trunks was onto him. "They must've been digested or something, the floor was made of acid remember! It was Kakarot's fault!"

* * *

Twenty Three Years Later

"So that means either Trunks or Goten will have to stay out here whilst the other goes in," said Gotenks, unknowingly acting under false information.

"Enough of this!" yelled Buu. He fired another volley of pink energy from the tip of his drooping antenna, though by the time the blast had reached him Gotenks had already slipped off the yellow ring from his right hand. With an instant popping noise the single saiyan became two as Goten suddenly found himself staring down the path of Buu's attack.

Before he could shield himself however, Trunks had intervened. Blocking his partner's fate with his own body, the saiyan eclipsed the flash of light to protect Goten from the blast, nominating himself as the person to enter the Majin's gut without any room to debate.

"_Trunks!_" cried out Goten, as before his very eyes the saiyan's closest friend was downsized into nothing more than a harmless gumball of green yumminess, leaving only an emerald ring that he'd slipped off at the last second. Like Vegito before him though, Trunks's strength allowed him to retain full consciousness and mobility even whilst shrunken down to such an insignificant form. He sailed headlong right to his destination, where Majin Buu opened his already drooling mouth to meet him. Before Goten could protest any further Trunks was welcomed like an old friend into the endless pit that was Buu's stomach.

"Ahh." The creature licked his lips and rubbed his tummy. "A noble effort I'm sure, but your friend doesn't have a chance in hell of rescuing my other half. What's more, he left you out here to die like a dog."

"_Shut up!_" Goten insisted. A rage began to swell within him that he rarely experienced as his saiyan blood heated to a boil. "Trunks is the strongest out of the two of us; he knew that he had the best hope of getting Uub out alive, that's all! And I don't have any intentions of dying just yet Buu!"

"Is that a fact?" Now that only one half saiyan stared him down Buu had quickly forsaken his fatigue and sorry state. He walked menacingly over to his target, pronouncing every step as his glower of evil intent darkened further. In spite of his mocking though, Buu's words fell deaf to the warrior.

"It is," Goten said, calming himself and stilling his breath for a transformation. "Take a good look at me Buu. You recognise me don't you? It was my brother who battled you on Earth and my father who finished you off for good. Well now it's my turn! You'll die because of me today!"

"Oh?" Buu mocked. "Is that why your hands are shaking?"

Goten looked down; Buu had been correct, his hands _were _trembling, but not in the way that he'd guessed. Saiyan blood flowed through his veins. Even if he had no chance of winning, the prospect of a battle so challenging was a delight to him. His aura flared as within just a few seconds he'd transformed into a Super Saiyan 3, his hair, physique and power showing four different levels in the space of an instant. Still he ascended, knowing that his power was nowhere near the level required to challenge such a foe.

"My hands are shaking. . ." he began, closing his eyes as a deep scarlet fur like that of his father's spontaneously grew out around his chest, covering the rest of his torso and arms down to where blue, elastic bracers covered his wrists. A strong tail whipped out from his newly granted beige trousers. He'd always been one of the smallest of the saiyans, but as a Super Saiyan 4 even Goten's physique broadened immensely. His chest expanded, his shoulder span widened and his muscles were pumped full of energy. His hair also took on a similar style to his father's, though it fanned out to one side at the back where his own blend could be seen.

As he opened focused eyes of a deep sea-green he looked back at Buu through onyx pupils, daring him to attack before he spoke again.

". . . With excitement," he finished.

Buu snorted. "Big deal. You should know that it takes more than that to handle me. You're just about stronger than that weakling I disposed of earlier, and now that I've added his power to mine you don't stand a chance of beating me."

Goten took a few moments to consider his words, and to Buu's surprise he finally nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "You're right," he admitted. "I can't defeat you. And even if I could, I wouldn't. Trunks and Uub are in there with you. But what I _can _do is hold you off until Trunks gets back and Gotenks can take control again. My friend trusted me to keep you occupied for as long as it takes, so that's what I'll do."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Goten ignored the fiend's query. Instead he answered through actions. Placing both palms flat together and holding them up before him, Goten mimicked the sign of prayer as faints clicks of ki bounced from the tips of his fingers. He closed his eyes and focused hard, concentrating his power to the centre of his closed signal. Adding power from the crying, static denizens of this frozen planet along with the trees and water that inhabited it allowed him to bring his technique into full power. His eyes stared hard at his hands held up before him, and his expression warped into a silent look of intense focus as the veins upon his arms and temples began to throb.

"What are you doing? Praying? The Kais fear me more than anyone so I doubt _they'll _answer your calls."

Only noises of effort made a reply from Goten as he poured more power into the concealed palms of his hands. Buu waited for just a few more seconds; if this was some kind of attack then it shouldn't have taken this long to power up and would've at least shown some effect by now aside from the random chaotic sparks of leftover energy. Despite the pose being different, Majin Buu still checked with a glance to the sky in case of another Spirit Bomb, the attack that had been the death of him. When he saw no sphere in the sky he decided that Goten was simply stalling for time, and so without a second thought the creature rushed at him with a flying fist.

As he raced towards the saiyan, Goten merely kept his eyes focused on his hands and didn't even seem to acknowledge the titan's approach. It was only in the moment before Buu's punch struck that he acted. Slowly separating his hands with a charge of excitable green ki, an attack jolted to life before Buu could even see it materialise.

"_Life's Blade!_"

In the blink of an eye Goten dashed out of the way as the creature hit empty rock, though it was only when he turned to pursue the saiyan that Buu realised something: His lower body had been removed, cleaved perfectly from the waistline down and preventing him from running until he reattached himself. One look at Goten was all it took for him to know what had happened.

In his right hand Goten flourished a deep green longsword, comprised entirely of wickedly frantic energy running up and down its length. That same energy made up both the handle and a straight crossguard to protect his fingers should he ever clash with another fighter. Despite being made of energy the blade was as sharp as any sword; sharp enough to cut through Majin Buu in his ultimate form like slicing bread.

"_What is that technique?_" snarled Buu, enraged that he'd been bested by a fighter of such a poultry level.

"Oh, this?" Goten held up the sword and admired it. "This is Life's Blade. Gotenks was right – a sword works best against someone like you, which means that even though you might be stronger, I've managed to give myself better odds. See, Trunks can't practice against me at full strength without his sword, so I figured I'd make one for myself so the two of us could spar properly."

Hearing no more, Buu threw his right arm like a pistol, stretching it across ten metres of broken land for a punch with more momentum than mortals could produce. Goten held up the Life's Blade and readied it into a stance; he slashed down just at the right moment to cut the red fist in half right between the second and third knuckles. With all the speed they'd gained, the two halves of Buu's stringy arms streamed by either side of him before knotting themselves together behind him and pulling back towards their maker.

Before he had the misfortune of being caught in the attack Goten ascended to the skies. A flash of supersonic speed faster than his eyes could follow allowed Buu to disappear, making him frantically search the area for his presence. He turned straight into the incoming fist, pummelling his face with brute force and sending his limp body soaring across the canyon and back into the city.

After flipping into a steady posture Goten landed vertically on the wall of some candy-coated leviathan. He scanned the area again; logic told him that Buu would attack head on, yet his mind insisted that he lurked where the saiyan would least expect. After a moment or two, Goten gave in to his battle instincts. He turned right in time to see Majin Buu smash through the tower where he'd stood from the inside, and defending himself with the Life's Blade, he slashed out twice to hack off both Buu's right arm and left leg.

Unfortunately for Goten though, his attack had only given him more trouble. As Buu ploughed another sledgehammer hook to his jaw, both the arm and leg he'd carved away followed him through the air, latching onto him and exploding on contact in a series of fireworks that lit up the sky.

As a flaming comet Goten soared from the blast headlong into a nearby building. Dazed and tired from his unfamiliar transformation, the stress upon his body had become great already. Charred fur smoked from his body, and underneath it patches of blood pooled where the explosion had done its worst. Still he clung to the sword he'd taken so long to create, even as Majin Buu touched down beside him and made his way over before grabbing him by his Super Saiyan 4 tail.

Having not been accustomed to it yet, Goten let out a yelp from the pain his tail gave him. It was sensitive enough just to grab, but it was even worse when Buu held him up by it for inspection. Being attached to his backbone, the tail sent him into a state of paralysis. He focused every single ounce of his willpower just to stop himself from losing hold of the energy blade.

"You're beaten," observed Buu.

Until the creature had spoken Goten had considered just giving in to death. With his mocking, taunting words though, something snapped within him. The man was suddenly driven by the same thought that had pushed his training to new extremes beyond anything he thought possible. What would Gohan do? He wondered. What would his father do? They wouldn't just give up; they'd keep fighting through the pain no matter how difficult it got. This was nothing to what they had felt – if he gave up he'd be disgracing his family name.

Pushing past incredible pain allowed Goten to pull himself up, and in one slashing motion he'd lopped off the arm that clung to him. As Buu recoiled in pain the saiyan found his feet, pulled out a series of punches with his left hand and then kicked the fiend straight into the sky. Then he readied his sword, concentrating energy down its length.

With the tip of the blade aimed as a perfect crosshair for the falling Majin, Goten suddenly blasted away, letting loose a concentrated snipe of volatile energy from the blade that pierced a man-sized hole straight through Buu's chest. One leg failed him suddenly, and he leaned over the handle for support.

"I'm _not _done yet – not by a long shot!" he announced.

Goten gave himself as much time as he dared to catch his breath before falling back into stance. Only five seconds passed before Buu had regenerated completely, and he seemed less than happy about being repelled again. The kid was as stubborn as the rest of his family; he just refused to die.

A roar of fury was the signal for Majin Buu losing it completely. He flew through six stories of chocolate where Goten stood atop its roof, waiting with a well-timed dodge and a loose swing of the Life's Blade to keep him at bay. Buu's aura flared out to destroy what remained of the building as he raised his hands to the sky. With a scream, the Majin fired out a countless platter of dark fireworks, twisting and turning through the sky as they homed after their target.

Knowing better than to try and deflect them, Goten fled through the city. In using the labyrinth of buildings at his disposal he managed to lose a few of them, though over three dozen still pursued him through the air, pervading the view with their negatively charged energy. Goten dipped his flight to a dive-bombing plummet to the road beneath him, and in the moment he landed, he sprung back into the sky, leaving only a crater from his impact and the explosion of a few more violet-black firecrackers in his wake.

He smashed through a sugar-smelling wall of glass into one of the towers and began to zigzag between the pillars of a cramped series of office booths. Several of them hit the stall doors and others were caught on the supporting columns, though as Goten made to exit out of the other side a presence approached.

He halted to a stop immediately, as right outside the window he was about to fly through, Majin Buu stood primed and ready with a fully charged blast cupped between his palms. Behind Goten the network of fireworks closed in, and before him the creature he most feared held his father's attack in his hands. With nowhere to run, Goten flared out his aura and covered his face, praying it would be enough to save his life.

Buu smiled. "_Kamehameha!_"

Simultaneously the beam of azure and fleet of tailed fireworks struck the Super Saiyan 4 in an explosion that slowly reduced the building to a ruin. Support beams collapsed and the candy-blue walls buckled in on themselves until all that remained was a crumpled heap of charred, smoking rubble only a fraction the size of its original tower. Laughing maniacally, Buu descended to the ground, watching the flaming tomb of Goten with a look of glee. The fire expanded with a crack as more confectionary caught ablaze and joined the funeral pyre in celebration of the saiyan's defeat.

Majin Buu then seized a handful of grass, transformed and sugar-coated it, stuffed it in his mouth and turned his back on the site of the dead saiyan, his laugh loudening into a deep howl through mouthfuls of food. He patted his stomach and continued marching away from the furnace until a sound halted him in his tracks.

The noise of a slicing blade screeched from the flaming dead skyscraper. Buu turned only to see that a straight, diagonal line of green swiped across the full length of the ruin. The top half neatly slid away, revealing its destroyer to be Goten, breathing heavily with the Life's Blade still clutched between his fingers. Burns that could easily scar covered him from head to toe and were illuminated by the fire he bravely walked through.

"Don't you _dare_. . ." he began, dissipating the sword into nothingness. "_Use that attack in front of me!_" Enraged by the sight of such an impure being using his father's signature attack, Goten cupped his hands into a ball, determined to show this abomination what a true Kamehameha looked like.

"_Kamehame. . ._" A tiny sphere of blue swelled into the size of a football. He roared and fired off the attack."_HA!_"

Like a directed meteor Goten's blast cut up the ground beneath its path into nothing more than scattered pebbles as it homed straight for the creature. It blew him into no less than a thousand pieces of gum with an explosion that tore a crater in the planet so large that it could be mistaken for a mothership crash site. Goten panted like a thirsty dog and sunk to one knee in exhaustion. He clung to his consciousness like he had to the Life's Blade, knowing that he had about thirty seconds of time before Buu regenerated and put him down for good.

Every instinct told him to lie there and get some rest. The burns on his body and the bruises down to the bone cried out for him to stop and collapse with only the slightest movements as provocation, yet still he persevered. Gohan and his father had both set the bar, now it was time for him to live up to his family name; to follow in the footsteps of his father, brother and uncle; to be a shadow of them no more and to one day surpass them.

Although his attack had worked, Goten realised that he shouldn't have let go of the Life's Blade so hastily. It had been his most effective technique; it helped him get the edge over Buu despite the power gap; if not for the Life's Blade he'd be dead already. Seeing Buu perform his father's technique though had ignited the spark of rage he'd triggered earlier. After just a few moments to himself, Buu was put back together. Even if Goten could destroy him he wouldn't dare for fear of killing Trunks and Uub, though he had no time to contemplate his weakness as the Majin launched into a ferocious kick to his chin.

As he felt his jaw dislodge painfully from its socket Goten barely had enough time to crack it back into place before another crushing kick sent him back down to the ground. A hand suddenly groped around his neck and pulled him up, choking him with a vice-like grip and holding him to roast like a skewered marshmallow over the scorching building he'd slashed in two.

"Why carry on this pointless battle? Why don't you just die? What is it you have to prove?" Buu asked.

"None of your damn business!" cried Goten, struggling to keep a scream flying from his tongue as his back was barbequed by the fire.

Buu flashed a look of irritancy, and instead of a reply he simply generated a violent, spastic current of bioelectricity down the hand he held the saiyan with. Being made of rubbery gum meant that Buu was impervious to the current; Goten on the other hand felt every jolt that sent his body into uncontrollable shakes. Lightning coursed through his muscles and that scream he'd been holding back finally escaped him, howling into the empty ghost town where no one would answer his calls.

For a whole minute the sadistic creature tortured the saiyan. He held Goten closer to the fire and sent more shocks down his arm to earn more cries of pain, but never once did the saiyan beg for mercy or ask for a quick death. Instead, once Buu had squeezed all the fun out him and prepared a humming bolt of ki in his spare hand to finish the man, Goten's screams of pain faded into a laugh. Breath by breath he chuckled away between spits of blood and gasps for air.

"Something funny?" quizzed Buu, preparing his attack.

"Yeah," Goten managed. He winked one eye open and cast a crooked smile; a look of smug victory. "We've won."

Buu mocked, "You've won have you?" and held up the cackling sphere to the saiyan's face. He held it inches away from Goten's broken nose to assure him that the moment it made contact he'd die. "And how exactly have you won?" he continued.

Goten chuckled again; his view was obscured by the glowing ball of ki, but his senses were not. "I can feel their energy," he revealed.

At once a column of steam vented from one of the many holes in Majin Buu's shoulder, bringing Trunks with it as he grew back to full size, fully transformed. He held a barely breathing Uub under one arm and his sword in the other, so with a spinning swing he cut right through the creature to send him toppling backwards. Buu's attack blasted harmlessly into the sky. Goten hit the floor, unable to stand. He forced himself into a sitting up position and cast a knowing, albeit broken look up to his friend.

"You had to make it _right_ at the last second didn't you?" he coughed, knowing that Z-Fighters as a general rule had a knack for this kind of behaviour. "You know I was about to _die_ there right?"

"Quit complaining you big girl," jested Trunks. "What say we finish this lowlife?"

"I'm with you on that one." Goten slid the emerald ring from his middle finger and passed it to Trunks right as Buu regenerated his lower body. He snarled and rushed towards them, though by the time he reached his mark Trunks had already slipped on the ring and exchanged a triumphant fist bump with Goten.

"_Fusion!_"

Their two voices echoed off each other, and by the time their second and final syllable was uttered they had merged into a single, two-toned speech. Majin Buu's punch was repelled by the shockwave emerging from the heavenly light that encased the warrior. He blew on his hand to cool it down as the light subsided, revealing his worst nightmare: a Super Saiyan 5 Gotenks back in action. And now that Buu no longer held Uub hostage there was nothing holding him back, save for his injuries.

"Ughh." Gotenks cracked his neck and circled his shoulders, noting all the damage he'd sustained thanks to Goten's injuries. "Alright what the hell?" he demanded. "I'm gone for like ten minutes and they do all _this?_ Were they being beat down _the whole time _I was away? I swear if I could talk to them in person I'd give them a piece of my mind! Right Uub?" He looked for confirmation from the half-dead man, though only the sound of an inaudible groan came from him when he tried to respond.

"Yeah that's what I thought," bantered Gotenks. "Anyway you just sit tight while I get back to kicking Buu's ass." He turned back the creature he'd repelled for the time being, though something peculiar struck him immediately. Rather than reverting back to his old pink self after Uub's rescue, Majin Buu remained at full strength. He'd been able to handle Buu's maximum before, but in such a damaged state Gotenks knew he'd find it much more difficult to obliterate every single piece of him.

"You actually thought I didn't fix that little weakness?" mocked Buu. "I figured something like this might happen, so while I had that boy absorbed I got to work on draining every last drop of his power."

With a gasp Gotenks turned back to the downed reincarnate, prompting Buu to continue.

"All his strength belongs to me now, and there's nothing you can do to get it back. If he'd been in there any longer then he'd be no stronger than those pathetic beings that live on your home planet."

"Alright _that's it!_" cried Gotenks, the limits of his patience finally reached. A blast of wind from his breath expelled over a dozen Kamikaze Ghosts; they were complete replicas of himself that chased Majin Buu into the sky. Quickly they caught up to him and latched on, preparing to explode with a burst of energy. Before they had the chance though, Buu took to simply shedding the parts of his body that they clung to with an oily discharge and regenerating immediately after, saving himself from the bulk of the explosions.

Being preoccupied with the stubborn ghosts meant that Buu was blind to the saiyan's true whereabouts, and it was only when Gotenks flashed into view with a burst of speed that the creature realised he'd been fooled. The fusion hovered just a few metres above Buu, eclipsing the sun behind him and preparing a fantastic jet of bright blue ki.

"_Kamehame-_" As Buu flew towards what he thought for sure was his doom a choke and a cough of blood from the saiyan Gotenks broke apart his chant of the blue technique. A brief lapse of control was something the Kamehameha didn't take kindly to. It veered off target, soaring right past Majin Buu and taking out a few ghosts before crashing to the ground. Buu took his chances. Upping his speed, the creature raced towards the recovering saiyan and grabbed both of his shoulders as hard as he could. After taking one last glance behind him Buu then twisted around, putting all his might into a throw and pushing Gotenks right into the path of the five incoming ghosts.

Even from orbit the bang from the explosion could be heard. Dizzy and barely conscious, Gotenks sailed from the ashen blaze to the ground, landing right where he'd taken off next to the downed Uub.

"_Damn it!_" he cursed, annoyed by his crippled state. "I'm gonna _kill _those two!"

"Gotenks. . ."

The saiyan paused, turning eventually to see that Uub had managed to pull himself back to his knees. His speech remained a series of spluttering wheezes and his eyes flickered dangerously into the back of his sockets; Gotenks wondered how he was still conscious. He'd told him to lay low and get some rest, but Uub wouldn't sleep until he'd seen Majin Buu destroyed with his own eyes. Even after getting almost all his power sapped away he still persevered.

"Let me handle this Uub," muttered Gotenks, scanning the field as fast as his eyes could track in an attempt to pick out the hiding foe. "You're not the only one who's got a score to settle with this freak."

"Can you really beat him though?" Uub quizzed.

It was a good question. One half of him had been beaten to the verge of death and the other half had expended nearly all his stamina in trying to get Uub out safely. As a result, he was in little shape to fight. "I reckon that if I focus, I've got enough energy for one or two more big moves," he revealed. "But there's no guarantee I won't just blow him into tiny pieces; if just one slither of him survives then he can regenerate from that."

To Gotenks's shock, Uub slammed a fist to the ground, pushing hard against the planet's surface to stagger back to his feet. "Then you just worry about blowing him apart," said Uub. "Leave the rest to me. I'll make sure there's nothing left over."

"And how do you plan on doing that? In case you forgot already, that red freak just drained you of all your power."

"With this." Uub opened his right palm, showing Gotenks that he held a tiny sphere of rose-coloured ki, no bigger than a table tennis ball yet more destructive than any technique in the saiyan's arsenal. "It's taking everything I have just to keep hold of this," he added. "I made it just before I got absorbed. Once you've blown him apart, if I can get a clean shot then it's all over."

"Right." Gotenks nodded in understanding, determined not to let Uub's last attack go to waste. "Consider it done."

He braced himself and closed his eyes. Taking a sharp intake of breath, Gotenks prepared to push his battle instincts to the limits; the strain on his body from his injuries meant that going back to full power would be an ordeal, though after telling himself that his pain was nothing to Uub's, he finally readied himself.

Absolute focus took over Gotenks as he waited in total silence for any sign of the creature. After just a few seconds, the blink of a nearby warp caught his attention, and his auburn-furred arm shot up just in time to block a world-crushing blow from Buu. Following through with another kick aimed at his ribs, Majin Buu dragged him into a rising exchange as they duelled higher and higher into the sky. Sparks of lightning amplified the saiyan's strikes and the world vanished into cloud cover beneath them. Even with his maximum speed, Majin Buu kept up blow for blow, showing him no quarter with which to unleash a final attack.

Eventually an idea struck Gotenks. His hand fell to the shaft of Trunks's blade pinned to his back, and in seeing this Buu dropped into a defensive position long enough for Gotenks to remove his hand and dart right past his guard, coming down with a thunderstruck haymaker. A barrage of kicks faster than any machine gun followed, and once Majin Buu recovered from his battering the monster leapt forward right into the path of a hammering slam. Through layers of cloud Buu plummeted faster and faster to the floor. The water from them splashed him out of a momentary daze, allowing him to regain focus just long enough to land on both feet. The impact dented a massive basin into the planet itself.

Panicking now, Buu looked back to the sky for any sign of his saiyan adversary. Peering past the clouds did him no good however, as Gotenks had already landed, and stood a sports field's length away from him, charging ki into his left hand. It was only when an attack name cried away that Buu noticed his foe's proximity.

"_Life's Blade!_" ordered Gotenks. Unlike the hybrid he was made from, it took Gotenks only a few seconds to conjure up the energy based sword. He took it into his left hand before drawing Trunks's own sword into his right. With two at his disposal the level of Gotenks's killing potential doubled, earning a look of fear from the Majin in his sights. He rushed across the planet's surface faster than he'd ever travelled before. Even so, Buu still managed to put up a defence in time for his arrival, for whatever little good it did him.

Gotenks sliced right through Buu's shielding arms in a heartbeat with the Life's Blade before doubling back and hacking him down the middle with Trunks's sword. In a swift flourish of slashes undetectable to Buu he hacked the fiend apart, carving him into countless tiny servings of red sizzling meat after one hundred cuts separated him. The cauterisation made from the boiling hot sizzle of Goten's new signature weapon meant that regenerating took much longer than usual. As Buu frantically attempted to magnetise himself back together though, he wondered why exactly he hadn't been attacked again yet.

Finally he managed to reform himself back into some oddly shaped humanoid, still slowly regenerating and throbbing with tumorous lumps as he wove himself back together. Once his mouth filled back into place and his eyes were reconnected he looked around, blinking away what he initially suspected was a serious case of double vision from a failed regeneration. After wiping his eyes with a two-fingered, stumpy hand though, Buu realised with horror what exactly he was seeing.

Some forty metres ahead of him, a row of countless Gotenks stood in a line. He turned around only to realise that the ghosts encircled him completely, providing no chance of escape. With their distance away and the fact that they stood shoulder to shoulder Buu estimated that close a thousand had been formed around him, all wearing the exact same expression and speaking in identical tones.

"I told you not to take your eyes off me Buu!" They each said as Buu's gaze frantically searched for an exit; a gap in their ranks. He could flee to the skies, but they'd only chase him down. Attack one and the others would swarm him. Attacking them all would be even worse, as one solid shot on these things was all it took for them to explode. The only chance he had was to locate the real one before time was up, though with the vast platoon of identical faces such a task was impossible.

"_Super Ghost Army!" _they cried in unison. _"Kamikaze Finale!"_

Before Buu had the chance to comprehend the attack's meaning all one thousand ghosts set off at a rush towards him, closing in with every passing blink. His eyes wandered frightfully in trying to guess the real culprit as they began to glow with a fierce light, a sign of their self-destruct. Finally he took to the skies, though as he expected, the ghosts simply altered their course and geared up towards him in perfect synchronism. Whatever move Buu had planned next was never executed. Again the ghosts upped their speed, whipping up fresh currents of wind behind them as they reached their mark. Twelve of them latched onto Majin Buu, with the others each grabbing a foot or an arm of their brothers to form an impenetrable human wall, now glowing so brightly that no individual features could be recognised.

As Buu struggled and squinted his eyes from the light of the glowing ghosts, he suddenly noticed that a single one stopped its ignition and broke off the wall to take to the sky. It was undoubtedly the real Gotenks, though with an army of copies holding him down the monstrosity could do nothing but feebly reach for the saiyan and cry out in rage.

"_You can't kill me!_" he roared, maniacally laughing in an insane cackle. "_I'm the Dragon of Gluttony! I'll come back again and again!_"

Silence then spread across the planet for a single second before the noise of nine hundred and ninety nine ghosts whispered the countless echoes of stifled, childish giggles in his ear.

"_Nyehehe_. . ."

All together the group exploded as the real Gotenks soared away. The blast demolished the entire area for miles around and its light nipped at his heels, blinding him momentarily as the sound filled the planet.

"_UUB! NOW!_" he cried.

Already tiny, almost microscopic fragments of the devourer could be seen squirming on the floor against the light of the explosion, wriggling slowly towards one another. With all the damage their rate of movement had been reduced to a snail's pace, meaning that it would take him hours to regenerate. Uub, however, had no intentions of letting him do so. With eyes half shut and knees violently shaking he pushed himself back to his feet, inching forwards with a pronounced limp whilst holding out the glowing sphere of energy he'd saved for so long. The shockwave from the blast still ruffled his hair into a mess and the dust slashed away at his face, serving to hinder his vision even more. None of it mattered though; Uub knew that if he could muster up the strength to throw this attack their battle would be over.

"_Gotenks! Get back to your ship!_" he warned. "_This planet is about to blow!"_

Gotenks shook his head. _"What about you?_" he called over the roar of the new wind.

"_I can still survive in space! Just go!_"

Being sure not to insult Uub's wishes, Gotenks nodded and immediately set himself on a course for his ship, still parked nearby in a small clearing. As long as he was inside it with the doors sealed nothing would be able to harm him, as the exterior was built to withstand even Goku's attacks. Still, he felt it wise to hit the red button and ignite the underside thrusters in case Bulma was wrong.

"_I told you I'd be the one to kill you Majin Buu!_" Even with the blast doors sealed he could still hear Uub's scream from the planet below. "_Now take this! . . ATOMIC BLASTER!_"

The gem-sized bomb of Uub's own creation suddenly rocketed straight for the midpoint of the ghosts' attack, erupting in a vast blaze of pink energy that sent the entire planet into flames, taking Majin Buu along with it.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Hellooo guys. Super Saiyan 5 Gotenks is up like I promised! Remember he's made from a different form of fusion so he looks a lot different, and that's not just an excuse for my crappy drawings! Honest! I know some of you might have been expecting the whole SS5 trial thing that Vegeta had to undergo but there are a couple of reasons I decided to skip it over in favour of just a comment of how he beat it. Firstly I want to use that scene used for a different character later on, and having it occur twice in the same story I can imagine would be a little boring. Secondly, you might remember that with Vegeta, the trial brought out his greatest fears – Gotenks isn't like that at all, he's really optimistic and isn't really frightened of anything, so it makes sense for him to beat it easily.

Anyway I decided to make this into a more Goten-centric chapter since I felt he didn't get any kind of crowning moment in The Room of Spirit and Time Saga and the Life's Blade is something I wanted to incorporate for a while. You probably noticed that I mentioned it draws half of its power from the planet, like the Spirit Bomb.

The reason for this is that whilst he might've been portrayed as a bit of a misogynist in GT, in his youth he was practically a doppelganger for kid Goku, so I figured he retains enough of that naïve purity to be able to pull off a similar move without receiving training from King Kai. Besides, all the main Super Saiyan 4/5s in this series have had a new special move: Goku's was the Dragon Kamehameha, Vegeta's was the Crimson Oblivion, Raditz's was the Kaio-Cannon (Which he's only used once so far to beat Novus), Gogeta had the Galactic Spirit Bomb, Gotenks has the Super Ghost Army and Trunks has the Echo Force, so not giving Goten one would be unfair.

Also I'd like to extend my annual thank you to all of my supporters. You guys are all awesome and you keep this story alive just as much as I do, although since he doesn't have an account I'd like to take this opportunity to extend a message to "Joe B", who had this piece of golden advice to offer me in a rather confused review of this story:

"Last but not least, ["Please do not use anyone else's work and pass it out as your own."] From the rule book of journalism, Yellow journalism is the wost possible form of  
journalistic writing or reportive story telling to ever exist. For example stealing somone elses fine work giving your self credit for somone else's hardwork is not a good idea at all."

Now I'm not sure whether this is just really badly worded and unintentional or not, but it almost sounds as if you're implying that I plagiarise the work of others and pass it off as my own. If this is the case then I must retort: **WHAT THE HELL?** I didn't work my arse off on this story and the one before it just to be called a fraud at the end of the day. I've been working on AF for almost two years now and I'd like to assure you all that I don't copy from anyone else's plot, I haven't stolen a writing style and there's a reason all the pictures I upload have my bloody signature on them. This is probably the most insulting thing I could imagine, so thanks. And I know what the word 'Descriptive' means but cheers for clarifying that for me, what am I six years old?

Whew, rage over. Maybe I overreacted - I think my hair was turning gold for a minute there.


	10. Chapter 10 Return of the Saiyans

Chapter 10: Return of the Saiyans

When Trunks finally awoke his first goal was to remember exactly what happened leading up to his sorry state. Before he opened his eyes he tried his best to calculate exactly how long he'd been out cold and whether or not he'd be paying the afterlife a visit. The cold steel of Capsule Three's upper deck surface pressing into his back told him otherwise, and with a silent prayer he finally opened his eyes, although the scene that lay before him served to make him only more confused.

Capsule Three hurtled through the void of space on no particular course. It spun like a flailing orb through an asteroid field, making a bang every few seconds as one of the rocks slammed into the protective shelling of the ship. To his left Goten was out cold and slumped in a similar position, looking more battered than he'd ever been in his life. To his right lay Uub, who looked just as worse for wear. It wasn't bruises or splodges of dried blood that mired his condition though; instead, Uub looked as cold and lifeless as death itself, being far paler than his dark skin should've allowed.

Trunks suddenly remembered the events of the previous day, and scrambling to his feet he limped over to Uub to check for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there alright, and Goten's heavy breathing served as his own proof for being alive. Trying to piece together the events, Trunks paused and calculated in his mind: before they blacked out, Gotenks had no doubt purposefully slipped off one of the rings to spare himself the aches and pains when he woke the next day. Uub on the other hand had probably used the last of his energy to transmit aboard before collapsing beside them.

After remembering the destruction Uub had wreaked upon the planet, Trunks realised to his horror that the plane they traversed through space wasn't an asteroid field; it was the scattered fragments of all that remained of the nameless world Majin Buu had terrorised. Considering that its citizens could've been rescued and turned back from candy meant that it was a hefty sacrifice on behalf of the Z-Fighters, but in some situations the lesser of two evils was the best choice; if they hadn't acted, Buu would've come back again and again, devouring planet after planet until nothing remained.

With a groggy head and legs of jelly Trunks picked up the limp bodies of Goten and Uub before making his way down the ladders and into the living area.

"Conference call. . ." he muttered lazily. As the screen lit up with multiple vibrating phone icons Trunks set down Goten and Uub upon the two symmetrical sofas. He propped up their feet and generously removed their shoes before each group answered one by one. Goku and Pan came into view from Capsule One, Gohan and Krillin from Capsule Two, Tien from Capsule Four and Piccolo from Capsule Five.

"We uhh." Trunks stopped for a moment to catch his breath as the others faced him with inquisitive stares, demanding a verdict on the fight. "We made contact with the five star – Majin Buu. It didn't exactly go according to plan but we managed to kill him."

"You separated, didn't you?" Piccolo interrogated.

"Umm." Trunks looked off into the distance, trying to recall the fight that now seemed a blur. Then he remembered; they broke the rules. When Gotenks separated into two beings there were three warriors in play: Goten, Trunks and Uub. This broke Alpha's two-fighter restriction, and apparently they'd paid for it. "Yeah we did – we didn't have any other choice."

"Trunks, we got a call about an hour ago from Alpha," said Gohan. "He torched Venus in a heartbeat for us breaking his rules. He said that if it happened again he'd do the same to Earth."

"And something tells me he wasn't messing around," chided Krillin beside him.

Goku suddenly decided to join in, defending Trunks's case. "Hey, don't worry about it guys! We'll just be sure not to break any more rules!"

"Yeah!" Pan agreed. "At least you all got out safe! That's what matters in the end."

Trunks bit his lip "Well. . . That's not entirely true." His thoughts went Uub, and he was about to fill the others in before the man himself decided to do it for him.

"I got beaten pretty bad," Uub said from behind him. Trunks turned to see that Uub had forced himself into a sitting position. He still looked pale and his eyes were bloodshot with heavy bags underneath them, as if all life had been drained from him. "I got absorbed during the fight – that's why Gotenks had to separate – to rescue me. They managed to get me out but by the time they did, Buu had already drained me of almost all my power."

"So what does that mean?" Tien asked. "Can you still fight?"

Sadly, Uub shook his head. "I can still do all the stuff I used to; I can fly, I can survive in space and I can use Instant Transmission; maybe I could even regenerate if I tried, but I wouldn't stand a chance in any current battles. My power level has dropped like a rock – it could take years for me to get back to how I was. All the efforts of my training were sucked away when I was inside Majin Buu, and they were destroyed when we blew him into oblivion. It was the only way to win." Uub's gaze fell to his sparring partner's quadrant of the screen. "Sorry Tien – it looks like I won't be able to help you out against the six star. You should wait for backup."

"No way; I'll be there in five hours so there's no point in turning back now," rebuked Tien.

"If it gets too rough then get back to your ship and fly away," warned the namekian. "Don't start a fight you can't win."

Tien nodded, having no intentions of dying again. "Right."

Uub's head fell back to the green cushion of the sofa as his eyes wandered to the ceiling. He let out a weary sigh and dropped his shoulders. He considered the unfairness of it all; why did _his _strength have to be the target for a gluttonous monster? "I can't believe this happened. I'm so sorry guys – I'm useless at this point!" he cursed. "I might as well just go back to Earth."

"Oh come on, you're being too hard on yourself! I wouldn't last two seconds against Majin Buu," assured Krillin.

"You're not useless Uub, you just helped defeat one of our greatest enemies," said Piccolo. "But going back to Earth isn't a bad idea."

"Piccolo, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" checked Gohan, as the same plan had crossed his mind as well.

"I think so."

* * *

The instant Tien came within range of the six-star planet he could tell immediately that it was one of the incredibly rare and exquisite planets the universe had to offer. He'd never been to space before, but even with his lack of experience it was clear this place was something special. For starters it was about fifty times bigger than the Earth itself, covered in its entirety by a grey, murky, fog that shrouded the planet's surface and gave the distinct impression of the paranormal. It looked like some kind of spooky marshland seldom visited by anyone, but Tien had faced worse than ghosts in his life, and he suspected he'd face even worse today.

Furthermore, the analysis from his computer suggested that the gravity on this world was actually _lighter _than that of Earth. Tien treated this information with suspicion as Capsule Four hurtled like a snooker ball into the atmosphere. Why would Alpha set up a battleground on a planet with such gravity that the advantage would be in his favour? He'd expected measures all the way up to five hundred Gs, but instead it read out as fifty times lighter than Earth's.

Hundreds of thousands of life signs swarmed the planet. They dotted the projected holographic map of the enormous world like a bad case of acne. Even this didn't give him any clues though; they'd faced many opponents with their own minions before. They could've been Frieza's soldiers, Cell Juniors, Saibamen, slaves of Babidi or Baby – the list was endless. Majin Buu and Broly had already been taken out, so at least they were off the list. Tien suddenly jumped from the noise of the supercomputer making itself heard.

"_Gravity shifting: minus forty nine, minus fifty one, minus forty five, minus fifty, minus fifty seven, minus forty two."_

"Wait, stop," Tien ordered. "You mean the gravity of the whole planet is changing? How's it doing that?"

"_Suggestion:_" began the machine, "_A spontaneous shift in gravity could be due to any number of factors. The most likely would be that the planet's orbit of its sun forces a change in density._"

"I'm not so sure. . ." Tien eyed the planet below with intrigue. With a buck like a startled bull the ship slammed through a layer of clouds and into a wide view of the misty world. The man took this as his cue to strap himself in and brace for a landing as the stilts extended beneath him for a queasy sensation of nausea. Once he'd passed the bumpy transition though, the ship slowed down and the ride grew more comfortable in an instant.

He knew right away that this was all thanks to the low gravity of the planet. The ship drifted effortlessly through the sky like one of the very clouds they'd just passed until it landed on swampy ground with all the force of a head hitting an especially feathery pillow.

"Great, just the vacation I was looking forward to," was Tien's first reaction when he approached the window. As he'd expected, a vast stretch of deep marshland stretched out for miles, and beyond it there were only jungle canopies of the same grey-green texture. Fog swirled from the swamp itself and odd puddles of a damp liquid could be seen wherever it missed. Tien didn't want to know what it was, but he doubted it was safe to drink.

Following Piccolo's advice about being smart, Tien had opted to land almost half the planet away from the location of the Dragon Ball that the radar detected. For now at least, he had to keep his energy to a minimum until he could see exactly who he was up against; if it was someone weak he'd go for it, but if it wasn't he'd have to make a tactical retreat and wait for backup. The others were right; there was no sense in him diving into a battle he couldn't win.

"_Gravity: Minus forty one, minus fifty, minus fifty three, minus forty nine-"_

"Alright I get it, the gravity is changing," Tien assured, if only to make the monotone voice of the woman stop. "Am I safe to go out there?"

"_Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide levels are suitable for human inhabitation. Strong caution is advised however, the gravity-_"

"-Changes, yeah. I gathered that already. Can you open the main hatch so I can see for myself?"

"_Right away sir._"

Without a microsecond of a delay steam suddenly shot out from six openings either side of the enormous door on the ship's flank as it began to depressurise. The moment it folded out into the metallic staircase Tien noticed the change instantly, as the open air of the planet flooded in through the crevices along with its own personal atmosphere. His feet left the ground free of his volition and his first intake of air felt like he'd inhaled one of those overhead masks that passenger planes dropped in case of an emergency.

In took only the slightest direction of energy from his fingers in one direction to send him floating in the other. It was simple enough to get used to, as within thirty seconds Tien had glided elegantly from the open hatch door, neglecting the stairs and floating right down into the marsh. His first guess had been right; even when dealing with a feather-light body, his feet still sunk right into the mounds of wet grass and it took a few seconds of struggling for him to wrench his boots free with a noise like a toilet plunger.

A few minutes of adjusting himself to the gravity Tien passed before finally managed a decent grasp on it. He knew that the direction of the Dragon Ball was far to the north, so he pointed himself in the right direction and prepared to set off. With a planet so huge it would take him at least a few hours to traverse, and the low gravity would allow him to fly without actually expending energy, making him effectively undetectable. Unfortunately though, his ship hadn't been; the moment he felt a small troop of evil energies skirting over the horizon he knew they'd seen Capsule Four racing across the sky and were coming to check it out.

"_Warning: Life signs approaching_," the computer echoed from the ship's doorway.

"Nice observation," muttered Tien dryly. He wondered what to do: he could stay here and fight them to protect the ship; then at least he might have some idea who the Dragon was. On the other hand, if he fought then he risked attracting the attention of the big six star before he knew what kind of power it packed. His mind raced as countless twinkles of a small platoon winked over the horizon until eventually he chose to stand and fight.

He watched them closely and dropped into a combat stance, ignoring the fact that he drifted in a new direction with his sudden movement and instead focusing on the great powers the raced towards him. Water splayed across the untouched marshes, separating beneath their paths and dousing the glum looking stalks of neglected grass.

Tien bit his tongue in realising that ten of them were incoming. He knew it was a risk, but he figured that if he fought, the size of the planet would mean that his presence would be hid, as whatever these things were, they were dispersed evenly across the planet. He knew he'd sensed their energy before somewhere, but he'd felt so many different strains of dark power in the past that putting a name on them proved difficult.

And then it hit him. As soon as they came within eyeshot showing no signs of slowing down he knew exactly what they were. They were the same creatures that had terrorised the entire universe and wiped out countless civilisations in their mindless killing frenzy; failed experiments devoid of any personality, left only with the primal desire to make others suffer. These creatures were Vynuls.

"Oh n-" An explosion by his feet cut off Tien's complaint, forcing him into the skies and tactfully wrenching himself right into a spinning uppercut, slamming with all his might into one of the hateful beings. Water from the explosion sprayed like a roadside bomb had been triggered underneath the damp of the marsh as the nine remaining turned blasts of energy on the man. Tien however, was much too fast for them. He dashed straight out of the air at speeds none of them could follow, back to the ground where the advantage was his.

As he expected, the Vynuls devised a strategy. They landed one by one to form a circle around him, feet sinking into the marshes as they stood ten paces or so away, ensuring that he had no chance of escape and that if one decided to attack, they could do so when his back was turned. Tien shuffled himself into a wider battle stance and focused hard, eyes glancing around each one of them, daring them to attack.

The Vynuls each stood between seven and eight feet tall, grey and lanky with vacant expressions and patchwork design. Stitches covered their bodies in odd zigzag patterns and no two were the same. Some were missing eyes, some had two right hands and others smiled with lopsided mouths – Tien hated those ones the most. Their arms, thin and gangling, ended in bony fingers of odd numbers and twisted design. Their legs shared the same unsightly deformations; sometimes their knees would bend in the wrong direction and often one leg was shorter than the other.

The best way Tien had found to describe them was that they looked like someone had tried to assemble a jigsaw of some kind of bipedal creature, but without the picture on the box to guide them the jigsaw had turned out badly wrong. Regardless of their mismatched appearance though, no one had ever found humour at the sight of a Vynul. Their fearful, malicious expressions and the way they often foamed at their twisted mouths at the very sight of a human ensured they were taken seriously. On top of that, they were also the most powerful henchmen Tien had ever faced.

A starving hiss from behind forced the man to spin around and knock an impatient, rushing Vynul to the ground with a kick raised higher than the level of his own chin. Keeping his leg raised, Tien made sure he was already prepared when another Vynul blitzed his way through the swamp to his right. He put the creature ten feet into the sticky marsh by bringing down his foot like an executioner's axe, but out of the bombing splash his attack created another pounced through the wall of water, dragging Tien into an exchange of fists.

Tien counted three swift punches and a turning kick that he blocked without much trouble before slamming his foe into the water with its friend, though now his troubles had been made worse. Three Vynuls leapt out of their positions and made straight towards him, barely giving him enough time to shoot up into the skies, where the other three now lay in wait.

One grabbed him by the arms, restricting his movements as the other two pummelled at his exposed chest. He struggled against the surprising strength of the stick-thin Vynul until a smack to his jaw forced him to act quickly. A brief focus of his energy allowed him to power up to a stable level, and with his skin suddenly burning to the touch his captor's grip loosened enough to allow him to wheel over and crush the creature's skull with a hammer blow of a kick.

A single glance to the ground told Tien that the three he'd left below had begun to ascend up to him, meaning he had a second or two to finish off the duo that had wailed on him. With no time to wait for them to move, Tien zipped forwards and slammed the first with a single fist before unloading another haymaker that sent it back down to its own small crater in the marsh. For the other he simply grabbed it, kneed it once in the face and hurled it with all his might towards the three ascending from below, scattering them like bowling pins and disorientating them for long enough for him to charge energy and cross his hands over his face.

"_Solar Flare!_" Using this signature attack had become second nature to Tien; he never got bored of the blinded, squinting expressions of the ugly Vynuls as a light more intense than any camera flashed from his fingers. Confused, blind and dazed, the creatures huddled together for safety in numbers until their sight returned, completely oblivious to Tien twenty feet above them making sure they'd never see daylight again.

With his hands outstretched in a triangle before him, Tien peered through the gap in his hands at the four defenceless zombies writhing in agony as he charged even more energy and prepared to unleash one his new favourite attacks. It seemed like overkill for just four pesky Vynuls, but this particular strain of one of his favourite attacks was untested on the living – if one could actually call the Vynuls alive.

"_Perfect Tri-Beam!"_ A pure green blast of energy, more powerful than any Tri-Beam he'd used in the past, rocketed from Tien's palms. The technique shot faster than any bullet; before Tien could even blink the four Vynuls had been squashed into the planet like flies, leaving a triangle-shaped denture in the swamp over fifty metres deep.

With the last of the Vynuls defeated Tien allowed himself a breath. He had no time to consider how fun fighting in lighter gravity had been or listen to the steady sound of the marsh's rancid water slowly filling the hole he'd punched in the ground with his beam. The only thing he could think of was the presence of the Vynuls: If they were here, did that mean that the six star Shadow Dragon was who he thought it was? Had Alpha really revived such a powerful foe to the realm of the living?

_No_, he told himself quickly, dismissing this idea. _Even when he wasn't at full power I could feel Chronus half a galaxy away. It must be someone else – one of the lesser Vices perhaps, but which one? It's been a while since I fought them, but Uub and I only managed to take down the fourth weakest by teaming up. I think if I pushed myself I might be able to take on a Vicis from one to six by myself. . . But what if it's a stronger one? I remember seeing that Unidecimus guy in action when Goku fought him – I wouldn't stand a chance against someone like that, and Vegeta fought an even more powerful one._

Tien's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a disturbance occurred across the planet. Vynuls were gathering together; they must've felt his presence whilst in battle and notified the others. Worst of all, the malicious presence of the six star was on the move. Tien privately scolded himself for using the Perfect Tri-Beam too early; he'd been so eager to try it out that he'd probably alerted half the Vynuls on the planet when it went off.

But it was too late to correct his mistakes now; Tien knew that he had to act fast if he wanted to save his skin. The Vynuls gathering meant that they were preparing to amount an assault on Tien. Against ten or even a hundred he could hold his own, but thousands were now amassing across the planet, headed by none other than the six star Vicis Shadow Dragon, whoever it may be.

Wasting no time, Tien smoothly glided back down to Capsule Four and made his way to the living area, where a simple vocal command was all the system required to call up every Capsule however deep in space they might be. As soon as the last one had answered Tien never even let them say hello before he began his warning:

"This planet I'm on – it's infested with Vynuls. I can't talk long; I just fought with a squad of them and now a whole army are on their way here." He kept his explanation as brief as possible to save time.

"Wait, so it's _Chronus?_" Krillin asked, paling immediately. "_Him again?_"

"I honestly didn't think that Alpha would have enough power to bring Chronus back from the dead," mused Gohan.

"I don't think it is," said Tien. "I don't feel his energy – I think it's one of the Vices. I'm not sure which one though."

"You should get out of there Tien, we'll back you up when we can," offered Trunks.

But Tien shook his head. "No, I'll stay here and go into hiding for a while. This planet's huge so if I keep my energy low they won't find me. I need to find out who this Vicis is and whether or not I can take him on. If I can't then I'll just wait for backup."

* * *

Lightyears away, Goku scratched his head and awkwardly shuffled. Part of him wanted to insist that Tien leave the planet whilst he still had the chance, but to do so would be insulting to a fellow fighter. To make matters worse the others looked to him for a final verdict through the screen. Despite having both a minuscule attention span and a child's mind they still saw him as a competent leader, so the decision rested with him to decide the best for all of them.

"Alright, but stay safe Tien," he warned, knowing that even if he commanded it, Tien would never leave the planet with his tail tucked between his legs.

"I will. Over and out guys." With his final words the screen went blank as Tien disengaged the call, leaving the saiyan and his granddaughter in silence. Pan looked worried. As an experienced adult Goku felt it was his duty to comfort her, though with all the social skills expected of an orphan man-child raised in the wilderness he found himself incapable of doing so.

"Will Tien be okay?" Pan asked at last, making no effort to hide her anxiety.

Goku smiled; this he could work with. "Of course," he assured her. "Tien's smart – he wouldn't just rush into a battle that he's got no hope of winning. It works out better this way: if it were me or Vegeta, or even your dad, we'd just fly in blindly without knowing what we're up against. Tien might not be a saiyan but he's got the upper hand in this kind of situation, we just have to leave it to him."

This seemed to work. Pan's face brightened up immediately as she saw the logic behind her grandfather's speech. She tightened her bandanna and was a second away from suggesting training again before a lurch from the ship knocked her off her feet. Without any warning Pan was thrown backwards, and would've hit her head painfully on the reinforced wall if Goku hadn't flown in and caught her. He hovered above the ground for a few moments, his eyes glancing accusingly around the walls and his fists clenching in preparation for an attack.

When none came he set her down and landed, finding that whilst the floor was stable again, something about it felt different to before. Pan shrugged and set off towards the ladders, prompting Goku to follow her into the upper deck and all the way over to the control panel. She inspected it closely as Goku's eyes stared at the open windows, still expecting an attack from any angle.

"Don't be so jittery grandpa, we just turned around," she said.

"Huh?" Goku made his way over to the scaled down map of the universe. Pan gestured to the four star ball they'd set themselves on a course towards. It had passed right by them, moving swiftly through countless systems on an erratic path as it dodged between planets. The ship had turned itself around automatically in order to follow the beacon of power it emitted, but with the power of a revived foe fuelled by a negatively charged four star Dragon Ball their ship was outclassed in speed. "Aww, we were so close too!" he moaned. "We would've landed in less than a day if it had just sat still!"

"What should we do?" Pan asked.

It was a good question; they could carry on following the Dragon Ball and hope for it to stop, or they could just fly towards a different stationary ball. After thinking for a minute or so the saiyan spoke.

"Hmm, I think we should change our course – we've got three saiyans landing on Earth soon so one of them should be to take care of the four star when it stops," Goku decided. He knew they'd never catch up to it, so his eyes quickly scanned the series of dots spreading away from their current location. The closest was a mere two days away: the seven star ball. He tapped the sensitive screen and hit the red button, sending the ship into another seizure before he had time to warn Pan.

This time he failed to catch her. Such was his excitement about feeling the ship change course again that he neglected his granddaughter. The capsule floor tipped dangerously as he sat down, allowing himself to childishly slide down the length of the training room with a giddy wail of enjoyment like a child on a rollercoaster. Five seconds of fun were all the ship gave him before steadying again, shoving Pan back onto her stomach as the floor became straight.

"Oww. . ." She rubbed her head and with one hand and pushed herself up with another. Suddenly the pain was unimportant though, as the sight of her grandfather laughing made a furnace out of her saiyan blood. She strode over with a fearsome march, and in one terrifying moment Goku could've sworn he saw Chi-Chi as her free hand curled into a fist and collided with his jaw. Pan knew that such an attack wouldn't hurt him, but it felt good at least.

"How about a little warning next time?" she demanded.

The saiyan laughed nervously and paid attention to her furious expression. Now that he'd noticed it once he couldn't stop seeing it; when she was angry she definitely took after her grandmother. "Oh yeah – sorry Pan!" he suddenly beamed, holding up his hands and waving around in a silly expression of surrender.

"_Urgh!_" she cried; the most infuriating thing about her grandpa was that it was impossible to stay mad at him, even when he deserved it. "You can be so annoying sometimes! Where is it taking us now anyway?"

"Huh? Oh, I put us on a course for the seven star ball!" he revealed.

"Wait. . ." Pan made her way back over to the radar, but this time she wasn't looking for Dragon Balls, she was looking for capsules. "I thought so!" she suddenly cried. "Grandpa, you _do _know that Piccolo is already on his way to the seven star?"

Goku nodded.

"Well what happened to that whole two-fighter limit? Or do I not count as one of the two fighters?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Of course you do," he said simply. "It'll just be whichever ship gets there first gets to fight the seven star."

"And what if we arrive at the same time? You ever think of that?"

Goku shrugged. "We'll probably just play rock-paper-scissors or something to decide who fights. That's the way it usually works."

* * *

One Day Later 

Raditz was still asleep when his saiyan space pod entered the Earth's atmosphere. He sat dreaming of gliding through the stars his ship had just passed, tucked away in his own little world without a care. In his dreams he knew nothing of war or battles or chaos, he was simply left to his own personal state of total bliss. So one could imagine his surprise when his deep slumber was suddenly sabotaged by a most horrific whiplash as his spacecraft slammed into the countryside just outside West City.

He'd never admit it, but a feminine scream beyond his control suddenly escaped him, luckily drowned out by the hiss of the claustrophobic pod suddenly swinging open, scattering the pebbles of the thirty foot wide crater he'd landed in. Yawning and shaking himself off, Raditz clambered out of his vehicle and immediately experienced a huge wave of déjà vu. Over forty years ago he'd landed at a similar stretch of countryside in an identical saiyan pod.

Last time though, he'd emerged with the intent of murder and greed, whereas this time he was driven by selflessness and the desire to aid his brother. He'd been to Earth three times before, and whilst all three stays had been brief, upon his second visit he suspected it was the closest thing to a home he had. Now that his fourth visit had come around he was immediately sure of it.

Two sudden explosions went off simultaneously to his left and right. Bardock and King Vegeta had obviously landed as well, and within a minute or so they'd hauled themselves out of the ground and regrouped. The king patted the dust off his royal battle suit and turned to inspect the planet.

"So this is Earth?" he said, unable to prevent himself from sizing it up in the hopes that it would meet his expectations.

"We don't have time to waste sightseeing, we have to get to Bulma's," Raditz ordered.

Without question the two older saiyans nodded and followed Raditz as he took to the skies. West City lay just a few miles to the east, meaning that Capsule Corporation headquarters were just a short flight away. Raditz had been keen to memorize exactly where all the major points of interest had been in case he needed them in situations like this. He knew that if they headed south they'd reach the mountainous region where his brother and family resided, and if he flew a little north and began their ascent upwards they'd reach the Lookout.

The three pureblood saiyans flew high above the clouds to avoid attracting attention from the citizens down below, wetting their faces with refreshing blast of moisture. It felt good to be free at last from those wretched pods. After just a few minutes had passed Raditz began his descent. He bombed down as fast as his regular state would allow him until the multitude of skyscrapers known as Capsule Corporation rushed up towards them. They plummeted past fifty floors of windows comprised of offices, with each cubicle of the thousands occupied by an office drone. Bardock asked his son whether or not this would draw unnecessary looks from the workers, though his son replied by telling him that Vegeta lived here, and as a result they were already used to this queer sight of people flying. Being the proud saiyan that he was, Vegeta never made any efforts to hide his abilities, much to the distress of his wife.

Finally Raditz touched down with the others in tow, landing on a wide stretch of beige driveway leading up to the front doors of the main complex. Behind him security barriers and a dozen burly men in suits and shades guarded the front entrance specifically to avoid people entering without clearance. Strangely though, none of them gave the saiyans a second look. Raditz figured that Bulma had probably instructed them long ago to pay no attention to anyone who could fly.

The saiyan strode towards the tan steps that marked the entrance to the main complex, wondering whether or not the receptionist would object to their presence until Bulma herself burst out of the revolving doors. She had a wrench in one hand and a half smoked cigarette in the other, and the expression of joy on her face told Raditz that he'd probably just saved her from a day of incredible boredom.

"Raditz! It's great to see you!" She waltzed over and hugged the saiyan after discarding the cigarette.

"Good to see you too Bulma," Raditz said as they released. He noted that even despite his short stay as an ally he was still greeted as an old friend. He then turned to introduce his two companions. "Bulma, this is-"

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure." King Vegeta took a stride forwards, cutting off Raditz's introduction in favour of announcing himself. "I must confess, when I heard my son married an earthling I was rather shocked, but I never realised she would be such a beauty."

Bulma blushed crimson. She didn't even need his comment about his son to know exactly who this man was. He was collected, charismatic and regal; he personified the exact image of a king. Furthermore, he was the spitting image of her husband. This could only be one man; she'd heard he was coming to Earth but had not yet adjusted to the fact that she'd be meeting her late father in law.

"You must be King Vegeta," she said, giving a short, polite bow before turning to the other man. He was exactly the same in that he looked almost identical to his son. A scar across his cheek and a blood red bandanna were the only features that set him apart from Goku. "And you must be Bardock, nice to meet you," she presumed. "Geez, do the females of your race pass on no genes whatsoever? I mean I thought I'd drawn the short straw on Trunks's side until now."

King Vegeta let out a great laugh and the other two followed. In his misplaced sense of superiority he'd previously regarded it as unwise to insult the saiyan race, especially in the presence of one so high ranking and powerful, but Bulma had gone ahead and done it anyway. She was smart, fierce, passionate and stubborn. Right away he noticed exactly what his son had seen in her, and she'd made him a better man for it. In fact, if Vegeta had never switched his allegiance to a nobler calling then none of the saiyans would have followed his example. Bulma had been a pivotal factor in his change of attitude, so indirectly she was also the one to thank for the whole saiyan race's sudden realisation of morality.

"I take it you're setting off right away then?" She took a far more prickly tone when it came to the topic of losing her interesting new company.

"Please Bulma, we have to get out there as soon as we can," Raditz begged.

The woman sighed. "Alright, alright. But you guys are gonna come to one of our parties when this is all over – we've got a lot to catch up on."

"Agreed," Raditz said with a grin.

With that, Bulma turned on the spot and started back down the brick driveway. Instead of leading them to the doors though, she took a left before the second set of stairs and led them around the back of the huge structure. Before they knew it the saiyans had rounded the corner and walked into an enormous compound the size of a small sports field, fenced off by twenty foot walls and capped with razor wire to prevent thieves. Of course, even if they got over the secure perimeter they'd never be able to steal one of the two shining beauties nestled comfortably at its centre.

They'd never seen anything like it before. Despite being a civilisation centuries behind most places they'd visited, these shuttles were clearly beyond even saiyan technology. On top of that, Bulma assured them that they were the fastest things around and could take a blast from a Super Saiyan 5 if needed. Even more impressive was the fact that she'd built them in just a week.

"May I present: Capsules Six and Seven. They're the last two and they're all yours for the taking," she informed, proudly showing off her latest creations and receiving a series of 'woah's as payment. Even King Vegeta, with his standards rivalled only by his ego, was astounded by the fine craftsmanship of these ships.

"Now," she started, grabbing a notepad and pen from her pockets and beginning to scribble. "Just a few things before you leave. Yesterday Goku and Pan passed right by the four star ball because it was on the move, but it suddenly stopped at a spot dangerously close by, so I'd suggest one of you guys go and take that one – it shouldn't take you more than a couple of days to get there. The other should go and back up Tien, he's stranded on the planet of the six star. Alpha laid out some ground rules that there's only two people to a fight and that you can only arrive by ship. Since there's three of you, one of you will have to take a capsule for yourselves like Piccolo did whilst the other two team up in the last one remaining."

"Piccolo's alive!" cried Raditz, elated by the thought of speaking with his old menor for the first time in years. Somehow Piccolo had managed to restore himself to the world of the living. "Anyway, I'll be the one to go alone then," he volunteered. He looked to his father and King Vegeta for permission and they nodded. Raditz was the strongest amongst them, so allowing him to fly solo was probably the best play.

"Fair enough. I'll give you guys a tour just to show you how things work."

Just as she'd done with the others, Bulma guided the three saiyans into one of the capsules and showed them around, instructing them on how to use the gravity machine and how to call the others before guiding them over to the control panel. It was just as impressive on the inside as it was on the out; technology far beyond human resources littered every corner and the Virtual Intelligence computer that governed the ship was extraordinary, if a little annoying.

"_Intruders, intruders, intruders,_" it droned on and on in the background. Alarm lights flashed from an angry red to a warning yellow to signify the invasion of foreign beings.

"I managed to get a readout on Raditz when he used one of my devices a few years ago, but the ship doesn't recognise either of you two." She gestured to Bardock and King Vegeta. "Raditz, you're free to go whenever you like – I just have to input the data for these two before they set off."

"Sure thing. It's been great seeing you again Bulma," he said, making his way over to the ramp and looking over to the other ship. "You take care."

"I will, see you!" Bulma waved until he was out of sight before raising her voice to a commanding tone they'd previously thought her incapable of. "_Ship!_ Manual override!" she barked. "Input new users."

After a few seconds Capsule Seven stopped the warning light show and its dull repetition of 'intruders'. The touch sensitive screen where the Dragon Radar used to be was suddenly replaced by a blue grid on which the computer instructed Bardock to place his hand and individual finger prints. The ships would not activate if their buttons were pressed by invaders and they wouldn't even open for anyone unauthorised.

All around them tiny cameras snapped still photos of Bardock to upload a fully three-dimensional model of him into their database. Bulma then had him read aloud from a series of sentences from a script so that the computer would recognise his voice whenever he wanted to ask the ship something. Whilst Goku's older doppelganger read passages of some old play with a look of confusion she used the time to interrogate the king; she needed answers after all.

"Umm, King Vegeta-"

"You wish to know about my son, yes? You didn't seem all that surprised to see us here – how did you know we were coming?" he asked, taking no notice of how he'd interrupted her in midsentence.

Bulma sighed, "Kibito-Kai told Trunks told me. He said you originally came with Vegeta but he got caught up in a battle. . . I mean, they said that they had it on good authority that he wasn't dead but-"

"He _isn't _dead." King Vegeta cut her off again. "The good authority you speak of is me: I can track anyone's energy in the universe that I lock onto, and I can pinpoint their exact location wherever they might be. Right now I can feel my son's energy out there, but I can't seem to locate where he is."

Bulma asked the obvious question. "But how's that possible? I thought you just said you could locate anyone?"

"I normally can, but this is a mystery to me. Someone could be blocking his signal to my senses, or he could just be hiding his location from me, bleeding out and slowly dying of his injuries."

"*_Ahem*_" came a cough from behind. King Vegeta turned to see that Bardock had cleared his throat and shot him a glaring look before motioning to Bulma, who looked on the verge of tears. The king quietly scolded himself; he'd forgotten how sentimental these earthlings were supposed to be.

"_However_. . ." the saiyan started again. "We both know Vegeta, and I daresay you know him a lot more than I do. If anyone could've survived and made a full recovery from that battle it would be him. I'm sure he's alright."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Back again guys. Sorry I'm late – I went on holiday and forgot to mention it. So all the capsules are now away and almost all the fighters are doing something at last. The saiyans are back and straight up into space.

I realised whilst writing this that the amount of characters in this series is so huge that it's hard for the writer to keep track of who is doing what, but it's even harder for you guys the readers. So to remedy that I just thought I've give you guys a brief rundown of who is in which ships doing what. The number of the ship doesn't really matter since they're all the same, I just like to be specific.

Capsules

Capsule One: Goku and Pan. On their way to the seven star

Capsule Two: Gohan and Krillin. On their way to the two star

Capsule Three: Trunks, Goten and Uub. Just defeated the five star (Buu), heading back to Earth

Capsule Four: Tien. Stranded on the planet of the six star

Capsule Five: Piccolo. Also on his way to the seven star

Capsule Six: Raditz. About to set off. On his way to the four star

Capsule Seven: King Vegeta and Bardock. About to set off. On their way to the six star to back up Tien

Dragon Balls

One Star: ? (Presumably Alpha) Off the radar

Two Star: ?

Three Star: Broly (deceased – killed by Vegeta)

Four Star: ?

Five Star: Majin Buu (deceased – killed by Uub and Gotenks)

Six Star: ? (Presumably one of the Vices)

Seven Star: ?

.

If you guys want me to update and repost this at any time in later chapters then feel free to ask, I know it can probably get confusing at times to keep track of everyone.


	11. Chapter 11 The Unsuspecting Seven Star

Chapter 11: The Unsuspecting Seven Star

"Rise child, for today is the day you return to life."

At the sound of her adoptive father's voice Novus rolled out of her sleep and quickly found the eyes of the great god Hyperion. She slept in a chamber opposite his own, inside one of the great heavenly buildings that stood beside the Gates of Life. These were the words she'd wanted to hear for a long time, but for almost two weeks he'd judged her as an unworthy challenge for the Shadow Dragons and told her to be patient until she was ready. She had protested and protested, and then a few days ago he'd showed her a viewing screen depicting the battle between Vegeta and the Shadow Dragon Broly. Hyperion had lamented that even he had no idea as to Vegeta's whereabouts, and the Prince of all Saiyans was easily the strongest warrior the young Vicis had ever met.

It was only then that Novus understood; unless she could attain a power equal to that of the strongest saiyans, going out there would be pointless; she'd be cannon fodder, or worse still, she risked getting in the way and jeopardising their mission to save the entire universe. Even being true to herself Novus reckoned that she would have at least a few more days until she was ready, though Hyperion thought differently.

"Are you sure father?" she asked, sliding out of bed in her night gown and finding a brush to smoothen out her silky golden hair, tousled and sticking out at odd places as her penance for a troubled sleep.

"I am," said Hyperion. "I have taught you everything I know Novus. Your power rivals – perhaps even surpasses my own. It is time for us to go."

"'Us'? You're coming too?" Novus tilted her head in confusion.

"Indeed; I've finally figured out a way to break my own halo, and I feel the warriors of our time may have need of my skills."

Novus complained, "But if you die then-"

"-Then it shall be of little consequence. If I die out there I will never again be able to return to the world of the living. If that happens I should at least be able to make my way back here and restore to life any fighters who perish in this war, that is all I ask for."

Novus nodded and bit her lip to stop another objection. Hyperion may have been proud and self-righteous, being a god and all, but his nobility knew no limits. He knew the risk in going out there and was more than happy to put his life on the line for the sake of the universe. Trying to talk him out of it would be an insult.

"Besides," he said, "the namekian fighter still carries a halo that I can relieve him of – your boyfriend's old mentor, what was his name?"

In spite of herself Novus couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush. "It was Piccolo, but father, Raditz isn't my boyf-"

The man cut her off, "Come child! We waste time in idle talk. I expect you by the gates within the hour." With that, Hyperion turned on the spot and disappeared out of the room, leaving Novus behind before she had a chance to correct his wild assumption. The woman sighed and shut the door before showering in the neighbouring bathroom and then changing into a fresh set of clothes that Hyperion had prepared for her.

Within just a few minutes Novus found herself clad in a white battle uniform that seemed to shine like her father's outfit. Having spent almost the entirety of her servitude to Chronus and Duodecimus clad in a high-powered suit of armour to disguise her identity as a woman, she had immediately rejected any kind of metal shielding that Hyperion would have her wear in favour of simple clothing similar to that of Raditz and his family. It looked better on her anyway, and she had far more freedom to move when her slender frame was not hindered by heavy alloys.

Finally she straightened out the creaseless suit and caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom's mirror. Her hair was still soaked thin from the shower she'd taken, and so with a simple outburst of power she dried it in an instant and gave it another once over with the brush.

Outside Hyperion waited for her by the great gates, looming high and lustrous against the bleach white sky and magnificent marble surroundings. Beyond them lay the realm of the living, but to enter the portal one had to be alive. Novus strode out of the main building beside the road and joined her father. The instant Hyperion's fingers grasped his blade it was unsheathed, swinging around in a wide arc without warning and making Novus in fear before her halo shattered into countless fragments of heavenly yellow glass. She felt life flood into her fingertips for the first time in years as Hyperion pressed the tip of the sword to his own halo.

The young Vicis felt the man transfer energy, diverting an enormous amount of power to his arms in some strange technique that cloaked his hands in a mystical blue energy. Applying pressure he began to push upwards, his enormous muscles bulging as he pressed the blade harder and harder against the yellow ring. Finally it began to crack, and shards of wayward halo fragments scattered like sparks escaping a hammer blow from steel. She saw the strain upon his face, turning his fair skin beetroot red and causing veins thicker than her fingers to throb against his oversized biceps.

Just when Novus thought he could go no further the halo let out another violent crack before eventually shattering into a million pieces, allowing Hyperion to finally release his held breath and dab his sweat covered forehead with his sleeve. Wasting no time the god turned back to the gates, and with a click of his fingers they swung open to a view of the swirling white portal to the living world. With a nod of reassurance the two proceeded.

Walking through it felt to Novus like she'd stumbled into a dream. Her whole body spun and flailed as she passed through dimensions, quickly losing sight of her father amidst the blinding white light. With her heart in her throat the woman focused and shut her eyes, unable to shake the feeling of vertigo as she plummeted into oblivion, spinning like a stray ship caught in a whirlpool. And right when she thought she was about to vomit Novus stopped still without the whiplash she expected.

Hesitantly the woman opened her eyes, finding that instead of the colourless void her surroundings had shifted to a barren canyon world, the same planet on which Prince Vegeta had fought with the three star Shadow Dragon. Hyperion stood by her side, looking no more troubled than if he'd just walked through a regular door rather than a portal to another dimension. Clearly he didn't experience the same sickness as his daughter did, but eventually she regained her composure.

"Where are we?" she managed at last.

"We're on a planet called Koraiha. The saiyans conquered it long ago in service to Frieza. It's a good thing the portal decided to materialise here of all places; the saiyans managed to salvage some of their old space pods and get themselves to Earth. You can survive in the void of space can't you?"

Novus nodded.

"Good," said Hyperion. "Alright here's the plan: I'll make my way to over to the namekian warrior. I believe his destination is the seven star, which Goku and his granddaughter are also on their way to. I should be able to bring Piccolo back to this world permanently; with any luck I'll be able to speak to Goku as well. You on the other hand should go to the six star. A human is stranded on the planet, and I believe one of your older brothers has been restored to life there as a Shadow Dragon."

The Vicis turned her senses to the galactic north, and sure enough the unmistakeable energy of her own kind seeped from the enormous planet like a bad smell. She knew exactly who it was in an instant; he'd been the last person she wanted to face, but this war seemed all about standing up to one's fears. So far it seemed that Alpha had somehow known pre-emptively which fighter would go where, and had organised each battle for a hint of irony: first of all the Prince of all Saiyans and the Legendary Super Saiyan had gone head to head. After that, the reincarnate of the despicable Majin Buu had fought against the real thing, with Gotenks also getting his much desired rematch. Perhaps this was all pure coincidence, but if this was indeed the case then Novus feared for the others, especially Raditz.

Hyperion suddenly rose to a hover, staying afloat a few feet off the canyon and looking over to his destination. "Don't worry for your friends, and don't worry for yourself either. I'm positive you've become more than powerful enough now to stop your brother."

"I'll see you soon, father," answered Novus.

"I suspect it'll be sooner than you imagine. Farewell my child." With that, Hyperion's opal white aura flared out into a magnificent torch as he streamed out of Koraiha faster than her eyes could follow. She steeled herself, focusing hard on the six star planet and its wretched inhabitant lightyears away. The world crawled with the obvious power signals of Vynuls, those hateful little soulless berserkers that she'd hoped never to see again. On top of that was the six star himself, standing tall and proud amongst the creatures, daring her to pay him a visit and show him what new power she'd attained.

* * *

As Piccolo's crazed roars echoed deep into space he began to wonder whether absorbing his late father had been the worst mistake of his fighting career. Outwardly he clutched his head so hard that he drew violet blood from his temples as he staggered around Capsule Five, screaming throaty wails at no one but the confused supercomputer whilst he rammed his body against the protective glass shielding and the solid titanium walls over and over again.

From the outside he was a wreck, but all the actions he exhibited were beyond his control. His mind had deserted his motor functions and instead focused all its attention inwards - to a large stretch of colourless void-space that reminded him heavily of the Room of Spirit and Time. Even upon his first visit here he knew exactly where he'd gone; he recognised it instantly from a talk with Goku after the namekian quizzed him about how he'd achieved the Super Saiyan 5 transformation. This plateau was the battleground of his mind, but instead of defeating an enormous ape he fought for dominance of his mind with the Demon King.

Even if he won - which he had done every time so far, he'd gain nothing for his victory except for another few hours of peace and quiet until the next assault. He'd already gained the power he needed when he absorbed King Piccolo; the only thing to do now was to deal with the repercussions and keep it for himself.

The surface of his mental arena would often change depending on his mood too: most times it was this featureless stretch of land, but other times he battled on the peaceful islands of his home planet or the old canyons of Earth on which he used to train. Sometimes his battlefield would even be the slopes of some active volcanic mountain range - those were the times when he felt especially wound up.

After staggering back to his feet and spitting out a wad of blood Piccolo matched his father's incoming punch with one of his own. He spun around with a booming shout of determination and aimed a sweeping roundhouse kick to the Demon King's temple, downing him at last and putting him at Piccolo's mercy for a Twin Special Beam Cannon. One of the orange spirals impaled his heart, whilst the other skewered him like a perfect sniper right between the eyes. At last this age-long battle had come to an end; until the next time that was.

"You win this round junior," spat the original as his body began to disintegrate into nothingness. Piccolo knew he shouldn't have even been able to talk with a hole penetrating his skull and destroying his brain, yet in the arena of Piccolo's mind nothing was impossible. "But you can't keep me away forever. The next time for sure will be the last."

The moment his father's body evaporated completely Piccolo found himself spinning back to the floor of Capsule Five with a flash of light brighter than any sun. He released a prolonged, exhaling groan as he removed his clawed fingernails from his crown, finding that each of them dripped with thick purple blood. He'd twisted his leg and bruised his arm in the seizure on top of giving himself a concussion, but all these things hardly mattered; as long as he finally had some quiet, the sort he was used to back home, he was satisfied. Of course, he _would've_ had some if that damn computer wasn't droning on and on.

"_Hostility detected – status update necessary. Hostility detected – status update necessary. Host-"_

"Shut up!" Piccolo bellowed suddenly, displaying a rare loss of his temper in the heat of the moment. "I'm fine, just switch off or something."

"_Very well sir_."

Finally the machine decided to be quiet and muted itself, much to Piccolo's relief. Now the only noise that remained was the soft, hypnotic hum of the engine below, reminding the namekian of the ambient sound of wind back home. After a while he finally decided to go downstairs and cool himself down with a glass of water from the machine fixed to the fridge he'd never once opened. With one hand he tipped the contents up into his mouth and with his other he found the weighted turban he'd left on the floor and fixed it back on his head. Not only did this hide the rapidly healing wound he'd inflicted on himself, but added pressure to his brain seemed to slow the progress of the Demon King, if only slightly.

Piccolo enjoyed a whole hour of harmony meditating in the kitchen before a ringing noise blared through the speakers in every room of the ship. For a moment the namekian truly suspected it was the computer trying desperately to piss him off before he realised it was the phone console in the living area. After a few seconds' hesitation he made his way over there and took his place in front of the huge plasma screen fixed to the wall. It was another conference call.

"Answer," he said, for once appreciating the company of the others. To his amazement though, this time the screen was split into six different segments, meaning every capsule was filled. Raditz stood beaming in one of the new squares. Tien was the only one who didn't answer, being absent and going into hiding on the planet of the six star. Another portion of the screen rang and rang after all the others had answered, and it picked up just a second after Goku cried out his brother's name in delight.

A room identical to all the others was suddenly shown in the bottom left square of Piccolo's screen, occupied by two familiar looking men, both saiyans. One was a tall man with a wacky array of black hair, a scar across his cheek and a blood-stained rag he used as a headband. He was clad head to toe in a green trim of the old saiyan armour Piccolo had not seen in years. Aside from that he looked just like an older version of Goku – the similarities were uncanny. The other man was shorter. His attire was far more regal and clean to suit his position as king. With his high-rising hair this man was clearly Vegeta's father, though he too looked much older than his son and especially wiser with his thickly grown goatee. Regardless of their apparent age and wisdom though, the pair of them bickered like schoolchildren.

"You're supposed to say answer!" insisted King Vegeta.

"I _did _say answer!" Bardock replied.

"You're only supposed to say it when the green light switches on!"

"Oh what do you know about modern technology you old goat?"

"Is that any way to speak to your _king?_"

"Oh please, you haven't been king in over sixty years, don't discuss formalities with me!"

"I'll discuss them all I like! Got a problem with that?"

"Well maybe I do!"

Raditz cringed in the square beside them and shamefully put a hand to his head. "Uhh, guys," he muttered weakly, ignoring the confused looks of the others.

"Bring it on you peasant! I can still show you a thing or two!"

"Oh, _peasant _is it? What, you think just because you were once a king an age ago you're so much stronger than me?"

"I _know _I'm stronger than you!"

"Care to prove that 'your highness'?"

"GUYS!" cried Raditz, his scream finally gaining the attention of the quarrelling men. Bardock and King Vegeta looked for the source of the noise before finally locating the monitor. At first they seemed to think they were just watching a view of the others through multiple cameras, with no idea that a call between them was actually in progress. King Vegeta stroked his beard as he cast his judgemental eyes over to one portion of the screen.

"Hmm," he said, weighing up the man. "He's much shorter than I expected."

Trunks couldn't stop his face from burning up as Goten slyly meandered off the screen until only chuckling could be heard. He knew right away who this man was, and since he was the only one related to King Vegeta by blood the only possible target of his criticism was Trunks. Even as Krillin tried his best to force down a fit of giggles the two elder saiyans remained oblivious.

"Yeah, and look at the size of that sword," noted Bardock.

"Indeed. Perhaps he's compensating for something?" the King suggested.

At this the entire set of Z-Fighters erupted into uncontrollable laughter save for two people. Piccolo only cracked a rare smile, whereas Trunks on the other hand grew utterly livid and pointed a threatening finger at the camera.

"I'll be compensating my mother for a new Capsule Seven if you don't shut the hell up!" he cursed.

"Good grief." King Vegeta turned to the man beside him. "Bardock, is it possible that they can hear us? Don't we have to hold down a button to send our transmission or anything?"

"_Yes _we can hear you!" declared the exasperated Trunks.

"See! I _did_ answer it right!" said Bardock.

Raditz cleared his throat in declaration as another echo of infectious laughter went around each capsule. So much for making a good first impression; the pair had come across as offensive buffoons. "_Ahem! _Guys this is Bardock, Goku's father and mine, and King Vegeta. I don't suppose I have to tell you whose dad he is."

The mood sobered immediately as the idea of meeting long lost relatives became clear to half the crew. Goku had finally met his father, the man Raditz had told him all about. Gohan, Goten and Trunks were meeting their grandfathers and for Pan it was the introduction of a _great_-grandfather. They stood tall and proud now that the atmosphere had hardened, with their impressive power clear to all without even being within sensory range. Maybe it was the clear relation they could make to their heroic sons, but for whatever reason the two _looked _powerful.

"So you're really my dad. . ." started Goku. He had even less of an idea on how to handle these situations than most people, and meeting one's late father for the first time would be an awkward experience for just about anyone. His face lit up like a child on his birthday as Bardock grinned back at him through the screen. "It's like looking in a mirror!" Goku exclaimed.

"I'll say," Gohan agreed. "You look just like dad."

"So are you really here to help us?" asked Goten.

Bardock nodded his head and smiled reassuringly. "We already have of sorts; most of you don't know this, but many years ago I gained the ability to look into the future. It's beyond my control, but a while ago I had a vision of the one you call Alpha. If that didn't happen we would've arrived too late to help you guys out – it took us seven months to make our way back here," he explained. "You're Piccolo right?" He then asked, looking to the namekian. "The warning you received from King Kai came directly from me. Raditz knew you'd want to be here for this."

Piccolo nodded in thanks before a stab of pain ricocheted through his head like a bullet. He grimaced and shrugged it off, though the slight flinch was enough to catch Goku's attention.

"Hey Piccolo, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, it's nothing."

"Yeah, are you sure Piccolo?" Krillin added. "You look a little greener than usual."

"I said I'm fine," established the namekian.

"Maybe you should lie down? Or get something to eat." Goku suggested.

Apparently this angered Piccolo. "Forty years," he muttered to himself, clenching his fist his frustration. "Forty years and you _still_ can't remember that I don't eat food!"

"Oh yeah!" cried Goku. "Guess I forgot!"

Piccolo sighed. "I get that. Anyway, Bardock, tell us more about this vision."

Bardock made a hum of confirmation and cast his mind back to the contents of his dream-like prophecy. It had been so surreal at the time, but remembering them after he woke up required a lot of thought and training. Fortunately he'd been keen to memorise this one vision and could recite it within a moment's notice, having done so before King Vegeta, Raditz and Novus, King Kai and Prince Vegeta.

"I saw a pair of deep red eyes, wide and evil, surrounded by darkness with a power level seeping from it beyond anything I've ever felt from even the darkest corners of the afterlife."

"Check," muttered Uub. They'd all seen this already, so at least Bardock's story checked out.

"Then I saw it – kind of like this black mass. It was silhouetted from my view; either he prevented me from seeing it or he was just too powerful and hideous for my mind to comprehend. He appeared above a handful of planets and reduced them to dust with just a snap of his fingers. I remember three of them specifically: one was a fiery red planet."

"Mars," offered Goten. It was the first planet in their solar system Alpha had claimed.

"One was a small blue world."

"Venus," echoed Pan. He'd blown that up just the other day.

"And the other was Earth."

Silence befell everyone except Raditz, who simply shook his head and yelled a complaint at his father. "What? _Earth? _You never told me this before!"

"I didn't want to worry you; there was nothing we could do about it whilst we were dead anyway," Bardock explained.

Still the group remained suspended in a state of quiet as the gravity of Bardock's vision hit each of them like a haymaker. So far two of the planets he mentioned had already gone up in flames, and Alpha had said himself that the next on his hit-list was Earth if they screwed up again. Still, they'd come prepared; after decades of facing such villainy the Z-Fighters had learned from past mistakes and taken precautions.

"It's alright, we've got a back-up plan," Gohan informed. "Goten, Trunks, Uub; are you still on your way back to Earth?"

Goten nodded. "Sure are. Might take us five or six days to get back though – that's how long it took to get here."

"It's fine, just no one mess around with Alpha's rules until then," said Gohan.

After another twitch from the Demon King going to town on his mind Piccolo decided to speak up. "So Bardock, what else did you see in this vision?"

"Not much – it was mostly feelings and stuff. I told the others about this, but another thing I saw was what appeared to be a sparring match between Kakarot and Prince Vegeta," recited the saiyan.

"Yeah I can believe that." Goku put two fingers to his chin and let his eyes wander as a guilty expression crept over him. "I haven't properly fought Vegeta in years outside of just training. In the last decade one of us has always been away, out of time or dead. Can't say I'm too surprised to hear that he'd want to spar again once this is all over."

"Speaking of Vegeta - is there any news on him? I mean it doesn't sound like Kibito-Kai gave Trunks and Goten a whole lot of information," said Uub.

The King shook his head. "That's because there isn't any. I can tell you he's alive, but that's about it. I still can't seem to get a lock on his location."

"Bummer. So which Dragon Balls are you guys after?"

Raditz, Bardock and King Vegeta each struggled to remember which of the funny blinking dots they'd been instructed to pick by Bulma in an attempt to answer Uub's question.

"I'm headed for the four star; I believe you passed it yesterday Goku – it stopped close to Earth so I'm going to check it out," said Raditz. "Dad and King Vegeta are headed for the six. Bulma told us that Tien got stranded there so they're going to help him out before anything bad happens to him."

Trunks's eyes lingered on the one portion of the screen that still hung in static, centred by a red call icon that rang on and on. Part of him wondered whether they were already too late to prevent something tragic happening to Tien; he was still missing after all. "Tien still hasn't reported back yet, so be careful gramps, it could be dangerous out there," he said.

"You too Raditz," Piccolo warned. "It's risky going after one by yourself."

"I'll be fine. I've gotten stronger in these three years," boasted the saiyan. "Alright I'm off – I really wanna try out the training machine upstairs. See you guys."

* * *

Goku's cosy, well-earned sleep was suddenly destroyed the very next day by what felt like an extraordinary crash as the ship slammed into some kind of barrier. It was five thirty in the morning according to Capsule One's display of Earth time, and whilst Goku had always been an early bird even this was a bit much for him. He'd had very few alarm clocks worse than a great heave of the bed beneath him throwing him out of his covers, followed then by a sudden scream from Pan as she too felt the full force of the impact.

Before he did anything else the saiyan hastily threw on his signature orange gi, ignorant of the pants being back to front as he charged into the main room to a view of the most extraordinary planet he'd ever seen rushing towards them. They'd fallen straight through the atmosphere of a blue, sprawling metropolis world teeming with countless energy signals stretched out to fill the entire window; in fact it was so beautiful that Goku couldn't help let out a 'whoa' in fascination as Pan came rushing in.

"Lights!" she announced. At her command the supercomputer flipped on the natural light simulators that were automatically disabled whenever they went to bed to give the illusion of night time. In the pale glow of the Capsule's rays the planet looked more stunning than ever had before, making it impossible for either to even imagine anything like an evil Shadow Dragon living there. One glance over to the Dragon Radar though and their suspicions were erased: this _was _the planet of the seven star without a doubt.

"I don't think I've ever seen so many life forms gathered together in one place," Goku observed.

Pan agreed - she'd been to many planet on the Grand Tour, but none quite so populated as this one. "And I don't sense any evil from them, do you?"

As she expected, the saiyan shook his head; even if he scanned the massive planet as hard as he could, he found no traces of a Shadow Dragon or any truly evil people.

"Computer! Give us a full rundown of the planet," barked Pan.

"_Planet Taulos_. _Orbital period: three years. Radius: approximately two hundred thousand kilometres. Day length: four Earth days. Suns: three. Moons: five. Satellites: sixty three. Surface temperature: twelve degrees centigrade. Surface Gravity: two Gs. Population: . ." _The machine suddenly paused. "_Unable to calculate_," it finished.

"Unable to calculate?" Pan asked, unsatisfied. "How about a guess?"

"_Estimation: . . seven hundred billion_."

"Seven hundred billion! That's more than a hundred times the population of Earth!"

"There's no way we'll be able to fight on this planet without putting lives at risk," Goku realised, but that was the least of his problems. Pan approached the radar and zoomed in their perspective to get another look at the planet, observing with a keen look of interest as their next dilemma became clear. Previously the gigantic map had pointed to the planet itself as the source of the seven star's power, but closer inspection proved that there was no exact location for the power signal: rather, thousands upon thousands of tiny flashing dots were spotted across the planet's surface.

Only then did Pan truly understand the situation: every single citizen of the planet Taulos was a blinking red light, each of the seven hundred billion of them claiming to be the Dragon Ball they sought. Alpha had no doubt planned this as a test, since the easiest way to dispatch this ball would just be to annihilate the planet itself from the safety of their ship. Knowing that Goku would never resort to such an unspeakable act though, the test ensured that they were lured onto the planet itself.

"It says everything on this planet is the seven star, but it's strange – I still don't sense any evil," Pan repeated.

"We're gonna have to land," the saiyan decided.

"Right."

With just another few button pushes Pan disengaged the autopilot struggling to lock onto to one signal of the billions and took manual control over Capsule One as the ship streamed through a wave of hazy blue clouds. Even the shortest buildings rose up to at least fifty storeys, and those highest were almost upon them already. Pan suddenly pulled them into a straight line and skimmed through the air as she searched for some kind of landing. Every window of the monolithic skyscrapers was a solar panel gleaming against the suns and absorbing their rays as a means to fuel the city.

Flying automobiles beneath them raced between the labyrinths of towers and veered into sharp turns to reach their destinations, with many flying on a different altitude depending on their destination. Leisure, taxis and tourism took place on the lower heights of the street, whereas business errands and folk on their way to work took the middle levels. The highest and fastest altitudes on the other hand were reserved for emergencies. Even below the army of traffic people still walked the streets and automated machines swept the roads to keep them spotless.

The people were so far down however that Goku still couldn't catch a glimpse of whatever the inhabitants of this world looked like. He wondered whether they'd all be of one race or whether the planet would play host to a whole range of intergalactic species from other worlds. Neither would surprise him. Part of Taulos's appeal was the fact of its efficiency. There were no columns of pallid steam rising from chutes to polute the sky as one might expect of such an industrious world; every energy source was renewable, be it sun or wind or what little water this planet was home to.

Pan suddenly asked the ship to find them some kind of docking bay, assuming that a world so prosperous would have some kind space station. Fortunately she was in luck, as the supercomputer found one within seconds and displayed it for her on the radar. She followed for a minute or so until they came upon a glistening black and silver construct, far bolder and shinier than even the majestic skyscrapers they'd flown past.

Goku almost found himself falling over as his granddaughter geared the ship to a sudden halt and began to descend, landing smoothly after retracting the ship's stilts onto one of the open stretches of land. Clear white steam escaped vents on the underside and the gaps in the blast door as it unhinged and swung down into unfolding stairs. Cautiously Goku tiptoed out onto the landing pad, a steel walkway suspended thousands of feet in the air and looking over to a gorgeous view of the city's traffic behind them.

A set of sleek double doors as glossy as ice led into the complex before them, though before they had a chance to enter a pair of the planet's inhabitants came rushing out to meet them. The cheerful, almost manic waving of the first caused Goku to curl his fist into a ball in expectance of an attack. Instead, the being only extended his arm and forcefully shook each hand of the two newcomers, making four handshakes in total as he proclaimed, "welcome to Taulos! The greatest planet in all the northern galaxy!"

The second, older alien repeated the same process of shaking both hands before he gave an apologetic smile. "You'll have to forgive my associate. Carmik here is only a hundred and fifty – he wasn't yet born when the Tullays, the Leoras or the Ferins landed so he's never witnessed the arrival of a new species. In any case, welcome to Taulos."

"Only a hundred and fifty huh?" Goku gave a nervous laugh as he studied the two curious beings. Both were as blue as the planet itself, part of a slender race of beings that stood a whole head over Goku in height whilst sharing only half his width. They were garbed in the silks finer than anything Earth had to offer and bore bowl-cut turbans over their hairless heads. Goku's first impression was that they must've been somehow distantly related to his old friend Pikkon. Sure, they were blue, much taller and thinner, but they shared his pronounced brow ridge along with his full lips and sharp nailed fingers.

They didn't look half as mean on the other hand; the first was still beaming with a smile that covered half his face whilst the older one had a pleasant look about him. Pan noticed a set of thick reptilian tails as they showed the pair inside the complex, where another set of countless walkways intersected and metal stairs leading up and down were jotted about in odd places. As much as he tried hard to look for any signs, Goku still maintained that there was nothing at all evil about this race; no hidden agenda sneaking around behind a welcoming face could be found here – these people were genuine.

Even as he noticed at least three dozen others of this peculiar race, scattered around the suspended bridges of the space station running about and filling out clipboards in whatever space they could find, he noticed that not one of them harboured anything more than a standard trace of jealousy or greed. This was all real, yet for some reason Goku still couldn't shake his feeling of unease. Why did all these lovely beings flash as the signal of the seven star Shadow Dragon? One way or another, he was going to find out.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Looks like the gang's pretty much all together. Piccolo's kind of having a rough time of too isn't he? So yeah, now there's a grand total of _four _fighters flying after the seven star: Goku, Pan, Piccolo and Hyperion. Wonder how Alpha's going to react to that little transgression. Seems fair after all, since every one of these seven hundred billion inhabitants seem to be the damn seven star.

Actually it shouldn't be too hard to figure out who exactly the seven star is - most of you probably have already. If Jeice come from Space Australia then this must be Space China, so ask yourself: which villain from the Dragon Ball series would most benefit from the most heavily populated planet in the universe?

I originally planned to have these aliens speak a different language, but then I realised that was stupid: people like Frieza and King Kai seem to use English/Japanese (depending on the dub) as their first language, so I'm just gonna assume this is like a Star Wars thing and that English is 'Galactic Basic'.


	12. Chapter 12 Possessed

Chapter 12: Possessed

The battles of Piccolo's mind always seemed to last for an age. From the deepest seas to the highest skies he fought for domination of his own body with his absorbed father for days on end, only to find that when he finally won only a few minutes in the real world had passed. This battle had been the fiercest by far, as the clash raged on with a force more intense than the storm that surrounded them or entire weight of the ocean they battled upon. Bit by bit the Demon King was hammering him down; Piccolo himself had begun to doubt he could keep this up for very long.

It seemed like every time the two of them fought, the evil Piccolo had grown stronger. In actuality it was the reverse: Piccolo was growing ever weaker in his mental fortitude every time their fists connected. After what felt like a week in his mind the brave namekian finally struck down his opponent and blasted his sizzling corpse deep into an underwater grave. Finally the rain stopped and the clouds parted to a view of the sun right as Piccolo felt his mind return to his body, spinning back down into reality with a cold splash of water.

His face hit the silver tiled floor of Capsule Five's bathroom. The tap had been left on, flooding the surface and streaming out into the living room. The ship droned on and on, this time as not only a warning about hostility, but also a water hazard had been issued. As he climbed to his feet and dried his face he promptly ordered it to shut up, wondering to himself how long he'd been out cold. With the floor as soaked as it was he knew it must have been a while. This was by far the worst attack; one look at the ship's monitor as he strolled into the living room told him that a whole hour or so had passed.

Something else was amiss too: no longer could his sensitive ears hear the ambient hum of the engine beneath his feet. Whilst he'd been fighting for control the ship had landed – he'd reached his destination at last, as this was the planet of the seven star. The first window he passed showed to him a gorgeous view of a sprawling metropolis world, teeming with countless life forms, each more powerful than the average human.

Among the countless power readings he immediately sensed Goku's and Pan's nearby, which stood out as being immeasurably higher than anything else on the planet. Although he sensed no signs of evil just yet he remained cautious; this _was _the planet they'd been looking for and something definitely malicious no doubt hid behind the welcoming façade. He just had to find it before it found them.

Piccolo headed to the upper level of the ship and grabbed his signature turban and weighted mantle. He wasted no time, hoping to finish the battle before another attack from the Demon King struck him. If King Piccolo decided to launch an assault upon his mind whilst he was fighting he knew it would be all over; he'd have to act quickly and use all his strength if he wanted a chance at survival.

The tall green man was halfway through ordering the supercomputer to open the doors before a dull, repetitive beeping sound caught his attention. At first he suspected that one of the others had picked a fine time to call him, but the tone was different. He glanced towards the source: a new dot on the Dragon Radar had appeared. Curiously he looked closer until he realised the shocking truth. Lightyears galactic west of his current location, the one star Shadow Dragon had finally decided to show his face. He knew this was Alpha; if the fiend decided to stay put then Goku had to know, for Piccolo suspected he was the only one among them who had any real chance at taking down the vile enemy leader.

Making haste now, Piccolo approached the open doorway and stared out over this strange new world he'd visited. Had he been a sentimental being Piccolo might've called it beautiful, but this was no time to be sightseeing, he had a job to do.

* * *

If there were any doubts left in Goku's mind about these aliens being sincere they were immediately quashed the moment food came into the picture. For a whole hour he and Pan had walked and talked with Carmik and Dalos, the two aliens who'd greeted them off the platform. They discovered that close to twenty different races lived on the planet Taulos and even saw many of them for themselves. Some walked on all fours or with bow-legged steps, or carried two heads or three arms. Some were birdlike in nature whilst others looked like cat people; the variety astounded even Goku.

They were taught all about the different customs, finding that the double handshake was one of the least weird until Carmik eventually decided they should have a bite to eat. They dined on the highest level of the space station on rare meats Goku had never even seen and drunk from a special brew that tasted like blueberries and pears with a hint of pineapple for good measure. The hungry saiyan could hardly hear them over the loud noises he made whilst scoffing his face and the clattering of bowls he piled up one after the other. One thing _did_ catch his attention though: on his fifth bowl of 'Chune' meat, Dalos, the older blue alien, took over from his younger colleague.

"Honestly we're actually pretty relieved that you're here. People will rejoice at the discovery of another new race; we've needed some hope for some time now, what with the worldwide blackouts," he said remorsefully.

Goku stopped eating and slowly looked up in interest, as did Pan. "Worldwide blackouts? What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Well Taulos has been having some trouble as of late," he confessed. "We figured it might've been happening across the universe but since you don't know about it I guess that's not the case."

"Tell us about it," said Pan.

"It's actually rather disturbing really," he explained, "but often around the planet, about once every day or two, everyone on the planet suddenly falls unconscious for a while. We wake up a couple of hours later but recall nothing of it. As you can imagine it causes all kinds of mayhem: people who work in high places will fall and end up dead, folk behind the wheel of their motors will crash and so on."

Goku tilted his head in confusion, sincerely ignorant to the true cause of the problem that seemed obvious to Pan. "How come that happens?" he quizzed.

Dalos gave a great shrug of his shoulders. "No one knows for sure just yet. Officially our scientists are saying that the sun's cycle causes a lack of oxygen that causes us to lose consciousness and the like, but nothing's been confirmed yet. The most unsettling thing is that more often than not, we wake up in completely different places, as if we've been moved or were all sleepwalking."

"And let me guess: this started recently, right?" checked Pan.

"Yes, about ten days ago," confessed Dalos, confirming her theory. "Do you know something about it?"

"Hmm." Pan put on a puzzled expression and momentarily ignored the alien's question as she pondered to herself. "The overload was a month ago, but days are longer here, so ten days fits in just right." Turning back to the alien pair, she added, "We know the cause of it, yes."

"That's why we're here," Goku offered. "A Shadow Dragon must be on this planet, but we can't seem to find where it's really hiding."

"It's infiltrated your people, and once it's done with this planet it'll move onto another."

Dalos and Carmik clearly had no idea about anything the saiyan pair talked of. Curious, they pressed the two for information as they finished their meal and headed out onto the bustling streets of Taulos. Goku and Pan explained about the Dragon Balls and their recent overload to them, filling in the gaps in one another's memory and taking it in turns to elaborate. Dalos and Carmik listened and tried their best to absorb everything, still unsure of whether or not these two were serious or even whether to believe them at all.

By the time they'd crossed the first crammed street of the planet and made their way past a modest garage to their right Dalos and Carmik had a general, incorrect idea: the great dragon Shenron was clearly the God of this world called Earth. The Dragon Balls were his idols and sources of his power, but someone had corrupted these and their influence had spread all across the universe.

Right as Goku moved onto explaining how this new overload had revived their old foes the most peculiar thing happened. He was in midsentence when the event struck the planet, yet he carried on for another ten words or so before he actually realised what had happened. Silence had fallen. Above them the thousands of motors that hovered above the streets whirred to a stop; some collided beforehand. Behind them, the packed street they'd just passed was as quiet as a crypt.

The people had fallen to the ground unexpectedly with no thought for self-preservation. Their bodies went limp with the sudden loss of consciousness, resulting in many injuries as hundreds of faces met the steel blue pavement. Carmik and Dalos had collapsed as well, remaining a few paces behind them sprawled out on the ground. Electricity from the buildings short-circuited and music from the nearby garage had spun to a halt; even the lone cleaner bot that swept the streets had gone lifeless. The once most crowded planet in the universe had suddenly become as silent as the most desolate moon.

"Okay. . ." Pan muttered, gingerly stepping over to where Carmik lay and jabbing him twice with her foot. He was completely unresponsive. "This is new," she judged. "I guess this must be the worldwide blackout."

A terrible idea suddenly hit Goku. The radar reading out as the seven star being all these people; the worldwide loss of consciousness – he knew only one enemy had a power so frighteningly dangerous to make something like this happen. "Pan, get away from them! I think I know who this is!" he suddenly roared. "Get behind me!"

As Pan hastily retreated behind her grandfather the whipping sound of a man flying through the air caught Goku's attention. He lifted his eyes to the sky, expecting his foe to rush out and attack them, yet this was no enemy; not anymore anyway. Standing before the light of Taulos's first sun was Piccolo, descending fast until he joined them on the planet's surface, the pavement cracking beneath him. With all the confusion they hadn't noticed him approach until he was upon them.

"Piccolo!" cheered Goku in glee. Though his happy expression fell when he noticed the grave face the namekian wore.

"Goku, there's something you should s-" he started to say. Before he could finish his sentence however, Pan suddenly burst out from behind her grandfather's back and rushed straight towards the green man, screaming as she did so.

"_Piccolo watch out!_" she called.

As the girl instructed, Piccolo crouched down, allowing the nineteen year old quarter-saiyan to zoom over his head with a flash of gold and strike an advancing foe that rushed in behind him. A queer looking alien of this world had tried to creep up behind the namekian warrior until Pan downed it with an overhand punch. She knew right away that this extra-terrestrial was not just a simple lone survivor of the worldwide blackout.

Its face had been twisted into a hateful sneer unlike that of any she'd seen of its friendly race so far. Its power had shot up and its movements indicated without any shred of a doubt that its intention was to harm Piccolo. With that one punch of incredible Super Saiyan strength she'd knocked it flat out cold, and now she stood over it, closely inspecting. The creature was one of the same catlike inhabitants they'd been shown earlier, a furred feline being with whiskers and a great mane around its neck. She noticed a set of dangerously sharp claws just before they blitzed up her way. Pan dodged the brunt of the attack, but the tiny scrape that the alien dealt to her leg was more than enough.

If she hadn't worked out already who the seven star Shadow Dragon was already, she certainly did the moment a slick, quivering substance of silvery blue writhed its way out of the sleeping alien's ear. Faster than she could follow it crashed into the tiny cut that blemished her leg with all the force of a thousand waterfalls, forcing its way in like a fat man trying to squeeze into a narrow doorway.

"It's Baby!" Piccolo realised, as both he and Goku rushed over to the girl's side. By the time they'd reached her though, the silver substance had long since disappeared into the crevice of a slash, spreading the villain's presence across every synapse of her nervous system and earning a scream of pain that sent her to the ground. Pan clutched her covered hair with both hands and raked her way through it as if trying to put out a fire, deaf to the reassurances of the two men as her screech echoed through the otherwise silent city.

It wasn't long however before her cries subsided. Pan buried her face in her hands and her breathing became loud and weary, as though she'd just crossed the whole length of the galaxy without rest. After a few seconds she looked up, smiling and giving Goku a winking thumbs-up.

"I did it grandpa! I fought him off!" she cheerfully announced.

Pan then got to her feet and hugged her grandfather, tearfully choking out the rest of her sobs into his outfit. Piccolo noticed that she only came up to his chest before he noticed something else entirely: the vile snicker that spread across her lips.

"_Goku! It's a trap!" _he called out.

Too late. By the time Goku looked down the sweet, innocent girl that used to be his granddaughter had bent her knees and twisted into a skyward uppercut that caught him right on the chin, smacking him some twenty feet across the street and onto his back. Shocked and confused, Goku pushed himself back to his feet and put up his guard opposite the girl.

"Aww, no wound yet?" Baby's voice came from Pan's lips, breaking his heart. "You're made of sterner stuff than most I'll give you that. I suppose I'll just have to try a little harder!"

Goku felt his resolve fail; when he brought Pan along he never dreamed something this horrible would happen to her. Back in Baby's reign she'd been one of the lucky few to escape his clutches, and he remembered being incredibly thankful for that. He knew when fighting him in Vegeta's body that the Prince would happily die, so he'd shown no hesitation when the two came to fists. Try as he might though, he knew he could never raise a hand to Pan; even in training he'd taken it easy on her.

He wondered how she must've been feeling, trapped and alone with her body completely unresponsive to whatever commands she gave it, unable to do anything except watch as Baby spoke and acted for her. Without thinking, Goku placed his fingernails over his arm, preparing to scratch a small cut there and offer Baby his body in exchange for Pan's.

"Goku don't be an idiot!" Piccolo called, sensing his intentions. "He's got all the people of this world under his control – you can't bargain with him. If you do that he'll just take your body as well!"

"Then what should I do?" asked the frustrated saiyan.

"I'll hold her, and you-"

Before Piccolo could finish a stark bolt of green lightning cut the sky ahead as from out of nowhere, an entire swarm of onyx storm clouds descended over the once blue skies of Taulos. A sudden twilight had befallen the planet, stealing the light from the triplet suns and replacing it with a menacing shadow. The eclipsed figures of countless beings under Baby's command flocked to the nearby scene, and rather than attacking the two fighters they dropped to one knee as if in worship.

Another five bolts of lime thunder cracked like the whip of a slaver behind the monolithic towers that rose up from the planet to mark the occasion. Whatever was happening, neither of the two liked the look of the sudden change the planet underwent.

"What is this?" Piccolo demanded, looking around at the horde of kneeling Baby soldiers. "What's happening?"

"_I'm _happening," said a familiar, wicked voice.

Goku and Piccolo turned to see that a figure had appeared at the end of the road, silhouetted by the same shadow that wrapped the planet in its sudden embrace. Black mist seeped from every pore, leaking and dripping out onto the spotless road as he walked down its centre with his arms outstretched. He was a figure shrouded completely by shadow and harsh black light that pained the eyes, standing a few inches shorter than Goku and wide-shouldered with all his features concealed by the fog that cloaked him, save for his eyes of course.

Those same bright red eyes of the eternal dragon pierced the veil of his dark mantle and stared unblinkingly down the road. Since they filled into the very corners of his eyes it was impossible to know who he was truly looking at, but all the same Goku felt his gaze stab through him as easily as Trunks's sword.

"Alpha," he presumed.

"Boys, boys, boys," teased the most powerful Shadow Dragon. "You just couldn't help yourselves could you? You just _had_ to keep screwing me around." He turned and made his way towards Piccolo, pronouncing every step with a flamboyant strut until he finally came face to face with the brave namekian. "_You think this is a game?_"

Piccolo tried his best not to flinch; he knew exactly what this was all about. They were violating another one of Alpha's rules – even though Pan had been disabled, apparently she was still classed as one of the two fighters. She had thrown a punch after all. _Damn it all_, he cursed to himself. _Uub and the others won't have made it back yet_. _We can't afford to break another rule_.

"Well it is!" Alpha cried, his sudden movement finally making Piccolo recoil as a trail of wispy black smoke was spat his way. To his relief Alpha turned back around before he added, "But games have r-"

Goku suddenly decided he'd heard enough. With a wordless noise of fury he powered up his very maximum and aimed a screaming fist Alpha's way, determined to end this while he still had the chance. Unfortunately his valour did him no favours, as even his fullest power was swatted aside as the Shadow Dragon lazily batted him straight into the wall of a street-side building with nothing more than a flick of his wrist.

"Rules," Alpha finished. He waited for the saiyan to stagger clumsily out of the smoking building before he continued. "And you two were just about to break one of those rules weren't you?" He paused to give his speech effect. "I thought I made it pretty clear that if you attack any of my Shadow Dragons with more than two fighters I'd make sure it didn't go unpunished. Now I already said that if you did it again after last time then I'd have no choice but to take care of the Earth! I said that didn't I?"

Piccolo could do nothing but bitterly nod as those glaring red eyes suddenly turned his way.

"Now come _on _guys! Have a little fun; oh sure, if the two of you ganged up on poor Baby here then you'd win for sure. It's much more entertaining this way! And I don't know about you but I wouldn't want this game to end so soon."

Goku only stared menacingly at the dragon through the yellow eyes of his Super Saiyan 5, reluctantly deciding to comply with him after seeing what he could do for himself.

"And since I'm such a nice guy," said Alpha, "I'll even have the Dragon of Sloth here show you the courtesy of giving you a few minutes to decide which of you gets to fight him. That sound fair Baby?"

"Of course sir," replied Baby, again speaking through Pan much to Goku's resentment.

"Glad we agree. Well see you!" With a snap of his fingers Alpha vanished into thin air, taking with him the meandering black fog and the ominous storm clouds. Within a few seconds Taulos was back to its beautiful shade of blue as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The suns shone once again unhindered by the dark clouds and the solar panels automatically got to work on absorbing their rays.

Yet Baby still remained, waiting patiently at the command of his master for the two Z-Fighters to make up their mind. At least two thousand pairs of eyes were upon them, each of them making their way back to their feet after bowing obediently to Alpha. None made any move to attack; in fact none of them moved at all except for Pan. Taunting them, Baby had the granddaughter of Goku run her hands along her waist and up her hips before finally stroking her face with a tantalising look of satisfaction.

"This body is _so _nice, I could have so much fun with this, how old is she now? Eighteen? Nineteen?" he mocked. "She's so. . . _Ripe_."

"Piccolo, don't get in my way. I'm taking him on alone," warned the saiyan, although Piccolo had other ideas.

"_No _Goku!" he barked, dashing in front of his oldest friend and holding out a hand to stop him. "He's just trying to get to you."

"Yeah well it's working."

"Just calm down! I can take care of this," Piccolo offered.

"Why shouldn't I be the one to fight him?" demanded Goku, his temper rising. "It's my granddaughter he's got – this is personal."

"That doesn't matter! Listen to me Goku!" Finally the namekian forced eye contact from Goku, who finally tore his eyes away from the possessed body of Pan. Piccolo went on, "I was about to tell you this before: Alpha showed up on the radar, and I'm willing to bet he's just gone back to the same place. You're the only one who's got a chance of standing up to him. If you don't go it'll be more than just Pan's life at stake, so go after him, I can handle things over here!"

After a suppressed growl and another final glare at the Baby-infested Pan, Goku relaxed his shoulders and powered down. It was the last thing he wanted to do in the situation, but he supposed Piccolo had a point. It still took every ounce of his willpower to stop himself. For a few seconds he stood in silence, looking around at all the inhabitants that surrounded them and knowing that billions more would come to the scene as soon as the fight began.

"Can you take him?" he asked eventually.

Piccolo nodded. "I think so. I might not look it but I've gotten a lot stronger."

"I noticed," said Goku. "I also sensed something inside you that I haven't felt in years. I think I know what you did to get all that power, just tell me one thing: do you have it under control?"

"More or less," Piccolo admitted.

"Then. . . I guess I can leave it to you." The saiyan took two steps away and flared out his aura, preparing to reluctantly take flight, but not before he said a last farewell. "I'm counting on you Piccolo. Bring her back safe, okay?"

"I will."

As Goku took to the skies Piccolo wondered how capable he was of fulfilling such a promise. Despite being one of the most intelligent of all the Z-Fighters he saw no proper way to get Baby out of Pan without killing her. Knocking her out might work, but even if he did that and destroyed every other member of this vast world a part of Baby would live on inside the poor saiyan girl and he'd come back again and again from it. Piccolo knew he'd think of something though; he had to. His brain always worked faster in a fight anyway.

"You ready to get this started?" mocked Baby through Pan.

"Whenever you're ready."

The moment his sentence was over Piccolo felt an incoming force heading for his caped back as over two hundred aliens he'd never seen before streamed his way, all with that hungry gleam of Baby in their eyes. He fled to the air, leaping from wall to wall and punching away any foe that flew up to block his path until he found himself within the stationary traffic jam that hovered above the city. The fact that all these foreign creatures could all fly disturbed him; clearly Baby had increased their power or somehow brought out their potential to make them adequate fighters.

Landing atop a bright blue motor two hundred feet up in the air, Piccolo looked back down at the road beneath him. He had no idea how they'd all managed to fill one road, but somehow close to five thousand aliens had flocked to the street, all of them pointing up green-glowing palms to face him. A synchronised blast of countless energy waves soared his way.

Individually the attacks would do very little damage, but together they became a threat. Piccolo fled up through the traffic, darting between the labyrinth of advanced motors that erupted in flames beside him the moment those green lasers made contact. By the time he'd reached the top of the cars he was level with the clouds and the tips of the highest skyscrapers, having outran every single one of those blasts in the chaos. Up here though, more citizens awaited him.

The familiar hum of ki turned Piccolo's attention south, where ten thousand angry Taulosians wore the exact same sneering expression as they charged energy into the tips of their fingers. Seeing nowhere immediate to run the namekian flew towards them as fast as he could and broke through the wall of people like a bowling bowl, scattering them to the skies. Mistimed blasts exploded in all directions, making the scene look like a firework from above until yet another few thousand inhabitants burst out of a nearby building and fired the same waves of energy.

Piccolo cursed; everywhere he went it seemed like a whole army of Baby soldiers laid waiting in ambush for him. Pushing his speed to the limit, the namekian dashed from the skies, to the street, to the buildings and to the rooftops, each time meeting the same scene. Often he had no choice but to attack. As much as he knew these beings were innocent, they'd still been infested by Baby, and every one he killed destroyed another small part of the Shadow Dragon.

As he turned a bright yellow blast to the nearest swarm of soldiers Piccolo doubted it was any coincidence that Baby had ended up here. Alpha had sent him to Taulos of all places; it was the most populated planet in the universe, where his power would be at its maximum. The billions upon billions of people here made him more deadly than any foe Piccolo had faced in the past. He still hadn't seen Pan again since the fight's beginning; he began to fear whether or not he'd killed her unintentionally before he found himself surrounded on all sides.

Before he could comprehend the situation thousands of green blasts had been rocketed from the palms of Baby's slaves towards him. At high speeds he'd warped right into a danger zone, a spot in the sky where they'd quickly surrounded him in an enormous circle and fired away the moment he looked up. He knew that Baby was still only toying with him; in his experience fights normally lasted as long as they had to at a low level, purely because none of the combatants wanted to show their hand first and expend energy they didn't need.

It was a classic method of battle, one of the very fundamentals that any fighter should hope to learn at an early age, and Baby had just utilised it to win this brief exchange. Both Baby and Piccolo knew that the namekian didn't have a chance in hell of deflecting or dodging this whole fleet of energy attacks without powering up or expending a precious amount of energy. So with a slight grunt of effort Piccolo directed ki into the flat side of his hand as he spun around in a full circle, hacking each laser out of the sky in one swift movement to save himself a great deal of pain.

When he looked up again Piccolo noticed that the army of soldiers had a far nastier smile than usual, and a twinge in his hand told him why. He'd held back too much power and hadn't spent enough ki for his deflection - a rookie error. Still, it was an honest, slight mistake that would've been forgivable in any other situation. After all, he'd only sustained an incredibly light gash to his hand; it was the lightest of injuries, looking no more serious than if he'd scraped it against it a brick wall.

That simple scrape was enough though. As tiny droplets of violet blood stained Piccolo's skin he tried his best to cover it up. It was all Baby needed to make an attempt on his mind. Of course, he had an ace up his sleeve that was sure to work, but he'd much rather have Baby believe that he was scared.

"What's this?" said Baby. The crowd of soldiers separated to make way for the only talking member of the army. Of course it was Pan. "A cut?" he asked, snickering evilly through the eyes of the girl. "Looks like this is the end for you, namekian! You'll make a nice addition to my collection."

At his command that same silvery, slick material that had claimed Pan rushed towards Piccolo from his blindside as Baby multiplied from one of the crowd and sent a piece of himself Piccolo's way. The namekian struggled and turned away, covering the bleeding palm with his free hand and clasping down as tightly as he could. It would never be any use though; Baby could fit through the tightest of spaces, being as swift as a shadow and as malleable as water.

It wasn't long before Piccolo found his body going into spasms and a great pain shooting up his spine. He felt himself slipping back into the limbo of his mind, where he lay flat on the bleach-white ground with the true form of Baby towering over him, preparing to smother him until his body and mind became his for the taking. What Baby never realised however, was that he was far from alone in the great hell that Piccolo's mind had become.

A great roar echoed from beyond the white veil, forcing Baby to jerk away from the prone namekian and turn his shaded eyes to his flank. An enormous presence left its impression on the colourless sky as the void shifted into the rage-filled look of the Demon King Piccolo. Baby's entire body was hardly bigger than a single eye of the screaming mirage of Piccolo senior, and he began to quake in fear the moment a great clawed hand reached out from the abyss to claim him.

It was about the time when the shadow of the Demon King's enormous hand engulfed him that Baby decided he'd had enough. Wailing in fear, the vile creature tore himself away and ran as fast as fast as he could, aborting his wretched plan and slipping back out of Piccolo's open bleeding graze.

The namekian keeled over in the sky as he struggled to maintain flight through laboured breaths and buckets of sweat. The weariness he often felt from the Demon King's attacks was back, though he knew from experience that the mental fatigue was relatively short lived in comparison to physical exhaustion. His shakes would stop and his breathing would return to normal within a minute or so. That might've been a great time to strike for Baby if he wasn't experiencing the same feeling.

It was an odd sight to behold, but all around him the encircling crowd of Baby soldiers struggled to catch their breath. Pan, who he'd chosen to speak through, looked even more shaken up than the rest.

"But how?" he spat, speaking through rasping breaths. "What was that? _What are you?_ I never had this trouble with you before!"

Piccolo never answered; he held a wry smile firm and steadied his posture as he watched the thousands of troops try and do the same.

"Answer me!" demanded Baby, making a positively ugly expression on the otherwise attractive Pan.

"Sorry Baby." Piccolo held up a hand and tapped his temple knowingly with his index finger. "But I think you'll find my head's full at the moment."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Yes! Of course it was Baby! Virtual cookies to all of those who guessed it, though I never actually considered that it could've been Cell until people pointed it out. Oh well, I like Baby. I had to include a GT villain and he's by far my favourite. He's probably the most deliciously evil whereas the others were just different shades of bland (Super 17) or generic (Omega). His power is also one of the most unique in the entire series, so he works well as a Shadow Dragon, even if he does have one of the most retarded, least threatening villain names in the history of all villains ever.

So Alpha made an appearance, taking on a strange form for his first physical debut. You'll see a lot more about that form and why he's taken it later on. It's not his final form of course.

Speaking of which, Goku is now officially on his way to battle him. OR I could just be the greatest troll in the universe and do a u-turn. See, there's no actual concrete evidence to say that Alpha is the one star, even though it's obvious that he is considering that Syn/Omega was back in GT.

So in light of that, I might just declare that Goku is going to turn up there and instead of Alpha, the one star Shadow Dragon will be the giant crab that Bulma fought on Namek. Wouldn't that just be hilarious?


	13. Chapter 13 The Cost of Battle

Chapter 13: The Cost of Battle

Piccolo could hardly deny that the look on Baby's face when he found out that possession couldn't be done was priceless. Fate had seen to it that the one fighter resistant to his unique abilities was granted the honour of being his opponent. The side effects of the Demon King's absorption weren't exactly unforeseeable, but an unexpected turn of events had led to some good coming out of Piccolo's curse. If anyone else had fought Baby they'd be enslaved before the battle reached its climax; one cut was all it took for the parasite to take residence in the mind of his opponent and convert them into a weapon. This fight could have been beyond even Goku's ability.

The wall of aliens began to snicker again as their numbers doubled and then tripled, surrounding the namekian and closing off every escape route in a sphere around him. Alone they were harmless; Piccolo could hack through each of them as easy as slicing cake, though together they were a force to be reckoned with. A single soldier might have a meagre power level – a value of a harmless five under the reports of Frieza's old scouters. Multiply that by seven hundred billion though and the true power of this planet became clear. Piccolo didn't like the odds.

Tersely the namekian shook his head, reminding himself that a fight wasn't all about numbers and statistics of power. Tact and real determination were often the true keys to victory, so by that logic Baby was only half Piccolo's strength. He was cunning as a fox, though Piccolo doubted he knew what true resolve was; someone who didn't fight _for _something couldn't possibly comprehend something as complicated as power.

"That was really something, I'll admit, but you're holding back on me Piccolo," teased Baby, interrupting the man's thoughts with his mocking impression of Pan's voice.

Piccolo growled under his breath. Baby was right; he _was _holding back on the parasite, but he got the feeling Baby hadn't shown his true strength yet either. The difference was that Piccolo was the one at the disadvantage; if he didn't want to die he should power up to his maximum and fight his way out before he was swarmed by the millions amassing to the scene of the fight. At first Baby seemed to suspect that his reason for not doing so was just out of the basic principles of battle, to never be the first to escalate as he'd done before.

Now that fatigue had begun to poison him though, Piccolo could see through the eyes of every Baby soldier that he suspected another agenda.

"Ahh, I see now." Baby sniggered from every angle as he finally worked it out, speaking through the saiyan girl. "You wouldn't want to hurt poor Pan here." She hugged herself and made a frightened expression, though Piccolo knew better than to think this was an act of Pan slipping through; Baby was just screwing with him.

_He's right_, Piccolo regretted. _If I go to my limits then just one blast from me could destroy her body completely. I can't power up until she's safe._

Baby suddenly laughed a cruel, high pitched cry. "In that case, I think I might make her lead the vanguard!"

"_No!_" Piccolo's protest was refused by a burst of golden energy that marked Pan's ascension into Super Saiyan as she flew towards him at lighting speeds accompanied by a host of hundreds of thousand Baby soldiers. Piccolo crossed his arms in front of himself to block a solid punch from her before dozens more were aimed for him at every angle. Before long he was swarmed by an army of hostile aliens swinging punches and kicks and random blasts of energy.

He ducked, dodged, blocked and leaned away from each of them. If one fist from the storm got to close he'd grab it and hurl it into the others with all his might, but some were just impossible to avoid. He sustained bruises to his arms and temple, and thin fingers of purple blood dripped from his leg where one of the reptilian creatures had slashed at him violently.

He knew he could always let off a small explosion, but the risk of hurting Pan was too extreme to consider it. She led the army like a commander, throwing out combinations faster than any with her Super Saiyan speed. After deciding he'd had enough, Piccolo expelled a burst of ki from his body. Distorted gusts of wind fled from him with all the force of a jet propeller to knock every person surrounding him back through the air. It was a mere fraction of his true strength, but the sudden outburst knocked each man off balance and allowed him enough space to dash to a nearby rooftop.

Unfortunately this was right into the path of a fleet of Baby soldiers; a giant mass of people that hung above him, each wielding a glowing globe of lime ki. Like a meteor shower the blasts crashed down onto him before he had time to act. He fled from the smoky explosion back down onto the road, but the damage was already done. Light, bleeding burns covered his chest and his forearms where he'd protected his face. Black smoke wisped from his charred skin; he could almost smell the burning flesh.

It was a surface wound and nothing more. With his healing metabolism quickened from being a namekian it would take no more than a few days to close up, but a wound was a wound – if Baby had any sense he'd strike now whilst Piccolo was in pain and off his guard.

Right as he thought this, a powerful fist slammed into his back like a freight train. Unfortunately freight trains posed little threat to Piccolo, so after a brief stab of pain he whirled around with a swift punch aimed for his enemy's midsection. He realised too late that it was Pan, though it came of little consequence as she darted away from the attack and back to the head of her million-strong army.

Right away Piccolo noticed something different about her. The girl's muscles were more toned and refined as though she'd spent another three years in the gym. Her hair had also thinned into leaner, brighter spikes, accompanied by an animated display of lightning that flashed around her body.

"Super Saiyan 2 huh? My my, she really has been busy hasn't she?" said Baby. He watched with fascination as tiny shouts of thunder flowed through his fingertips.

"I'm warning you now Baby." Piccolo spoke, a perilous tone creeping into his voice. "Leave her out of this."

"Or what?" Baby still watched the chuckling blue lightning as he spoke absently. "Are you really offering to let me go?"

"No, I just might kill you quickly."

At this the parasite suddenly erupted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, mocking and joking amongst himself using the whole army as his puppet show. "Well that's not much of a reason for me to let her go then is it?" he said through Pan at last.

"I'm past negotiating. Let her go," Piccolo warned.

"Or what?"

In a burst of unrivalled speed the namekian lunged at his enemy, crossing fifteen feet of flat land in an instant. He made a grab for Pan and actually managed to clutch her forearm before a legion of Baby soldiers descended upon him like crows to carrion. The hailstorm of unforeseen blows caused him to lose his grip on the girl as he sensed another wave approaching from behind him. He turned and blasted them with a destructive flash of azure light, and by the time he'd turned back around Pan was ready to attack.

She sprung, twisting her body as she launched into a spinning uppercut that knocked Piccolo off balance. She then followed up with a fierce combination to his abdomen and finished off with a flourishing kick that met his chin with deadeye accuracy. As much as Piccolo's instincts told him to fight back he simply couldn't. He made for the skies, bashing away countless slaves as he went and finally touching down on a nearby rooftop.

Finally, he noted, a spit of land on this overcrowded planet that wasn't crawling with enemies. He knew they'd be upon him soon, and so he used what precious little time he had wisely to survey the landscape and prepare his next move. He stood atop one of the smallest skyscrapers Taulos had to offer; it ran parallel to the middle row of halted traffic that cluttered the street. Enemies could attack from the surrounding windows above or the street below.

As he scanned his immediate environment carefully Piccolo couldn't help but notice something disturbing. He'd been too caught up to see it before, but now that he'd finally picked up on it the sight was impossible to miss. Way above him near the clouds a whole fleet of soldiers were amassing in the air. Clearly they saw him as plain as day, yet they did nothing, only hovered ominously way up in the sky as their numbers continued to grow and grow, almost fully eclipsing the second sun. The armada was made up of millions, and thousands more joined by the second. What were they doing? Was Baby preparing for some kind of massive simultaneous attack?

Sadly the namekian had little time to contemplate the parasite's motives as a hand reached up through the reinforced concrete of the roof he stood upon, grabbing his leg and pulling down with all its might. He stood firm and brought up his leg to force the slave through the surface and join him on the rooftop, finding to his dismay once again that Pan faced him.

Even Super Saiyan 2 was hardly a threat to Piccolo's most basic state, but her punches still packed a lot more wallop than the rest of these poultry power levels that surrounded him. A thousand consecutive blasts homed towards him from a nearby window, forcing him to retreat back and giving Pan an opening in which to strike. It was a clever system Baby had worked out; to avoid Piccolo grabbing the girl he'd constantly bombard the namekian with attacks from his soldiers and use the brief moment Piccolo used to defend himself to hit as hard as he could with his most powerful slave.

Eventually though, Piccolo saw through the repetitive technique. He feinted left and leapt off the roof, swinging around the great tower for the duration of the attack and using the speed he'd gained to dive straight towards Pan and grab her whilst he had the chance. She squirmed and cried out in his arms; Baby even tried the old trick of trying to convince him that Pan's mind had returned right up until Piccolo delivered a hard chop to the back of her neck.

Limp, breathless and defeated, Pan's aura of golden energy faded along with the colour of her hair as she flopped to the ground. With just a single move he'd knocked her out for the count, and the way she slept seemed almost peaceful, like Baby's influence had finally gone. He knew this was far from the truth, but to finally have her out of the battle meant he could finally concentrate fighting. Or so he thought.

Piccolo turned around to face the newest platoon that stood facing him with lime green spheres of energy charged into their hands. He prepared himself, until suddenly he felt two arms of surprising strength wrap around his shoulders and hold him in a tight lock that prevented escape. Somehow, Pan was back on her feet, fully powered up once again and clinging tightly to Piccolo. She rooted him to the spot, forming a stationary target for the incoming assault as she watched safely from behind him.

"_How?_" he growled, although his reply was only a sneer from the girl. Before he could figure out any logical answer the unmistakeable sound of thousands of energy blasts flying his way interrupted his brainstorm. His first instinct was to shake the girl off and escape. Then again, doing so would result in Pan's body acting as a substitute for his, getting caught in the blast and taking all the punishment of half a million beams. With a grim huff and a grunt of determination Piccolo held fast.

He'd felt worse pain in his life, but the constant bombardment of Baby's legion coming from all directions was definitely up there on the list. It felt as though his whole body was being savaged and slowly torn apart by a tirade of hornets, nipping at him without stop as he roared in pain and forced himself to stay still lest Pan become the victim in his stead.

Once it was over Piccolo sunk to his knees. He felt the surprising strength of the saiyan hybrid slip from around his shoulders as he lay prone in the smoke; black dust worked its way into his eyes and lungs to force a squinting cough as blood flowed from every appendage. In spite of his pain, he'd vowed to win and to get Pan out safely, and so once the smoke was blown into nothingness by the wind Piccolo got back to his feet. He stumbled at first before finally regaining composure and opening his eyes once again to the sniggering, possessed Pan.

"What, you thought just knocking her out would do?" scorned Baby. "It doesn't matter what they go through; you could chop off her legs and I wouldn't feel a thing – the pain belongs to her. I can make her carry on fighting past her very limits until her body withers and becomes useless to me."

_Damn it_, Piccolo thought to himself. _He's far stronger than what he used to be. It's not just this planet either – that Dragon Ball must have enhanced all his abilities_.

Baby Pan slowly flew higher into the sky, projecting that malicious, mocking tone back down to the lowly skyscraper. "But you _really _are determined to save her aren't you? At first I thought I'd just make you fight her until you eventually decided you had no choice and killed her out of convenience."

Piccolo shook his head. "If you really thought I'd do that then you're more twisted than I imagined," he said.

"Oh make no mistake," Baby corrected, "you'd kill her eventually. But at this rate it'll take all day and I'm getting bored of it already, so I figure I'd save you the trouble and skip right ahead to the good part."

Only then did Piccolo notice that the army of hovering, sky-dwelling citizens he'd noticed earlier had each powered ki spheres into their hands. By now their numbers had multiplied and multiplied into tens of millions – maybe even hundreds. They were so clustered and packed together that they could be mistaken for a threatening storm cloud on a planet where only the sun's light shone. As soon as Piccolo saw them he knew their intention, and as Pan ascended higher and higher he knew there was no way he could reach her in time.

"Wait-"

"_Say goodbye to Pan!_" jeered Baby from above.

Jade green rain suddenly poured from the cloud of gathered Baby soldiers, each thrown as hard as its users could muster and each combining in mid-flight into a cavalcade of energy made straight for the young girl. The Baby-infested teen merely flew up towards it against her will as the real Pan inside must've been screaming and trying everything to move of her own accord to no avail.

"_No!_" Piccolo called out. He set off as fast as his body would allow, knowing it would be of little use as the typhoon of evil energy descended upon Pan, getting closer and closer by the second. Eventually the girl stopped; Piccolo watched as the silvery mass of Baby's existence slipped out of the small cut on her leg to save himself. By then it was too late to save her though – the howling beam of light was upon her, granting Piccolo one last haunting image of her petrified expression and panic-stricken screech before a giant explosion filled the sky.

Every building and motionless hovering car in the vicinity was immediately reduced to dust, and Pan along with them. Although the deafening sonic bang of the detonation left a high pitched ringing in Piccolo's sensitive ears he could've sworn he still heard her screams echoing around him, reminding him of his failure. Unlike many of his comrades Piccolo always managed to keep his anger in check, but keeping a tight leash on such a powerful emotion took control that the namekian found slipping away from him.

He'd _promised _Goku that he'd get her out safely; looking his friend or his student Gohan in the eye again would difficult. His only solace was that countless leagues of impassable void-space stood between him the pair of them, for even he might not be able to still their wrath. With a noise of broken anger Piccolo flared up a volley of energy into his hands before the pain started again.

An invisible sword had seemingly been driven through his skull. Piccolo dropped to one knee and let go of the moulded ki cupped into his palm. With his free hand he clutched his head, watching as his vision began to fail and his head grew dizzy with the pain.

"And now for the grand finale!" he heard Baby cry. He felt a sudden uptake of energy as signals from all over the planet began to blend together, uncertain of whether it was Baby's doing or just his lack of concentration with the Demon King's attack.

"_No, not now!" _he cursed aloud. The now familiar sensation of slipping into the realm of his mind overwhelmed Piccolo. He fought against it with everything he had to stay present in reality, but as hard as he tried it was useless. Even if he managed to keep his mind in the real world, fighting like this was impossible; his limbs were numb and his senses were dulled to the point of complete disorientation, like an adolescent's Saturday night boozing on planet Earth.

There was nothing else for it; at least he'd been spared some small mercy of not being attacked yet. Baby seemed to be using the time to power up or charge some kind of attack, and whatever it was, Piccolo might have a few moments to reclaim his mind.

The instant he let himself slip out of consciousness the namekian felt a savage kick collide with his left temple. The Demon King had been expecting him, preparing himself to get the drop on poor Piccolo and send him spinning across bubbling fields of molten lava. Of course his brain had chosen the volcanic setting for him to battle in - what else could it pick in his state of newly surfaced rage?

The anger had brought him closer to the Demon King and allowed his evil father to attack again prematurely. Only an hour or so had passed since the last assault, and yet here he was again, chasing Piccolo down with a spray of exploding energy bombs and meeting him head-on with a soaring punch that sent him crashing into a nearby active volcano. Piccolo didn't have the time or patience for him now, but therein laid his problem.

These battles were all about tact and patience, something Piccolo had lost in his anger the moment he saw Pan obliterated into nothing but smoking dust. He had to get back out there and deal Baby his retribution as quickly as possible, and that impatience made him open to attack. Add that to the fact that the Demon King grew stronger by the day and Piccolo was fighting a losing battle.

The moment he got up and streamed out of the funnelling chimney of the volcano a fist rushed in to meet him. This time he parried the blow and forced his father into a complex duel of fists, matching each one before ploughing a haymaker into the man's face. As soon as he did so a kick came at him from his blindside and crushed into his ribs, after which two more copies of the Demon King ascended from below to meet him.

_Multi-Form_, Piccolo thought as he readied himself for another attack. He rushed down to meet the two clones gearing up for attack right as his path was blocked by a Special Beam Cannon from another unseen copy. His dodge allowed the two Demon Kings an opening, and they used it to pummel him left right and centre before slamming him back down to the ground.

Piccolo fell fast and cratered hard into scalding hot rubble, a bed of obsidian rocks lying next to a river of lava that hissed and spat tongues of flame into the air. When Piccolo found his feet, his face was dusted in burning soot and two fresh wounds had been added to his ribcage and right forearm.

"_Special Beam Cannon!" _a voice called out from behind. Piccolo turned quickly enough to avoid being killed by the blast, but not quick enough to avoid being injured. The spiralling beam of orange light pierced him through the back of his shoulder blade like a knife dipped in the river he stood beside. It exited out of his arm with a shower of purple blood, tearing a hole in his shoulder wide enough to put a fist through.

The Demon King behind him began to laugh in triumph as the five clones reformed into him with a sickening squelch and a burst of fluid. Glowering and grunting as he did so, Piccolo grabbed hold of his arm and tore it off, knowing it would regenerate in time. Even that knowledge didn't make the pain any less intense; he'd been de-armed many times in his fighting career – it was never something he got used to. He tried his hardest to keep a straight face as blood gushed to the open wound and formed a small puddle by his feet, but it was impossible not to wince in pain; it was all he could do to stop from screaming.

Wasting no time, Piccolo senior lunged forwards and connected a brutal punch to his son's jaw. His speed had now increased to the point where Piccolo could barely follow it, and the man's power was astronomical in comparison to his own. The namekian was left flying dazed through the air for less than a second before the Demon King intercepted his flight and hammered him back down to the rocks. He then met Piccolo again on the ground by grabbing the wrapping of his cape with one hand and pounding his face to a pulp with the other.

Time after time Piccolo felt the hammer blow of his father's fist smash into his face, breaking the tiny bones in his skull and swelling his pained expression into an unsightly mess. He knew that this was all mental pain and that none of it was happening in the 'real world', but that didn't make it any less excruciating. Piccolo counted up to fifty blows before his namekian healing powers finally decided to kick in.

With a discharging splash of liquid Piccolo's right arm sprouted back into place, giving him a free hand in which to act. He grabbed feebly at the Demon King's face in an attempt to make him stop, yet the punches still rained down upon him at every second. He felt like he was there for an eternity, stuck and locked under his father's strikes for hours on end.

Suddenly though, right when Piccolo knew he could take no more, his saving grace appeared. He was too close to death to feel anything approach and the Demon King was too engrossed in demolishing his son to even notice, but if either of them had opened up their senses they would've felt a foreign invader making his way into Piccolo's mind.

Five feet of bladed wrought steel suddenly rammed through the Demon King's chest as he towered over his son. Piccolo saw the blade skewer through him, ending its fatal thrust some two inches away from his own face before it suddenly glowed with a burst of translucent white energy.

"_Purge!_" he heard a voice cry out - a familiar voice that he was sure he'd heard before. The Demon King suddenly shrieked; a high pitched wail echoed around Piccolo's mind as the roar of the volcanoes and cackle of the blistering lava pools came to a halt. His father's expression conveyed enough pain that Piccolo almost managed to feel sorry for him, right up until the moment the blade was withdrawn and the namekian shoved his lifeless, disintegrating corpse off his chest.

At first he suspected Baby. He'd never known anyone else of being physically capable of actually entering another person's mind until earlier, but now he'd met a second: Hyperion. The opal armoured god stood over him, his silvery blond hair flowing against the wind as he extended a hand to help the namekian to his feet. The moment Piccolo's clawed fingers touched the man's own he felt himself lurching through space. A flash of the brightest white light blinded him momentarily before he found himself back upon a lone skyscraper of Taulos, with Hyperion's glowing white claymore pierced through his stomach.

When the god finally removed the sword there was no wound, and before Piccolo had a chance to consider why this was another great swing of the enormous weapon came his way. In a single stroke Hyperion cleaved the namekian's halo in two. Piccolo's hands grew warm as he felt life flood through his system once again. After three long years he'd finally been returned to the realm of the living, properly.

The two finally had the chance to observe what abominable event their foe had triggered. Above them a large silver mass that oozed power from every orifice had formed, writhing and shrinking into a humanoid figure with each passing second. The sudden lack of scattered energy signals from the planet told Piccolo the inevitable truth; somehow, Baby had managed to unite all his strength into one body, forcefully fusing every inhabitant of Taulos.

What soon hovered above them was an abomination – a seven fingered, wide shouldered, reptilian, bow-legged creature that looked like twenty different species had been thrown into a pot and blended together. The only things that remained of Baby were the milky, swimming eyes like liquid mercury and the series of red lines painted down from them as if he'd been crying blood. Satisfied with his increase in power, Baby surveyed his Frankenstein creation through the reflective glaze of a solar panel to his right and nodded with a gratified smirk.

Fur covered his legs, scales his arms and feathers his back. One hand was clawed like the talon of a falcon whilst the other was blue and silky smooth, a by-product of Taulos's original inhabitants – Carmik and Dalos's kind.

"Hyperion. . ." Piccolo muttered, never taking his eyes off the horrific creation above them. "That ability you used, what was it?"

"I'm a god of righteousness and valour – I can cleanse people of any negative entity that pervades their body," he answered.

"Cleanse? You mean-"

"-I couldn't destroy the Demon King Piccolo," Hyperion lamented. "He's hardcoded into your entire being, so I couldn't get rid of him without killing you first. I _have_ weakened him though; those seizures you experience should be less intense and more manageable."

"I see," Piccolo grunted. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. At least he wouldn't have to worry about another attack during the battle. One thing did elude him though. "If you had gotten here earlier would you be able to heal a girl whose mind and body had been invaded by Baby?" he asked.

Hyperion considered for a moment and then nodded with a look of regret, forcing a painful sigh from the namekian fighter.

"Then Pan died for nothing," he reflected.

"It's often the cost of battle. At least we're both still alive though. If we team up we should be able to take him d-"

"_No_." Piccolo's sudden insistence stopped Hyperion in his tracks. "Pan has already been counted as a fighter. If you attack then Alpha will destroy Earth in a heartbeat – leave him to me. Besides, if you got even one cut he'd take over your body, then I'd be in trouble."

Hyperion looked confused. "What should I do then?" he said as he sheathed the greatsword.

"Get out of here. Goku just set off after Alpha, if you go now you should be able to catch up to him. He'll need your help for what he's about to face."

"I can't just leave you here to fight Baby alone. There are other ways I could help," Hyperion offered.

But Piccolo was done listening. The air parted beneath him as he slowly rose to a hover, staring up at his horrific opponent with a glare of contempt.

"_Leave_ Hyperion," he snapped. "Follow Goku and get as far away from here as you can. If you're even in the same system when the fighting starts. . . I can't promise I won't kill you by accident."

Finally Hyperion understood. This was personal; Piccolo meant business. This determined, bold namekian had to do this alone, even without Alpha's rules restricting him this fight would have always come down to a one on one. The silver haired god had no idea what had happened beforehand and feared the details were too shocking and too recent to ask about. Without a sound Hyperion nodded and set off again, gone as quickly as he'd arrived.

Alone, Piccolo continued to ascend, floating up past countless windows to join the tallest buildings and wordlessly landing atop one of the highest. Now that he'd finished admiring himself Baby turned to face his foe. The namekian looked as cold and ruthless as ever, even when standing in the presence of such a formidable and overbearing power level.

"I got bored of waiting for you so I decided to power up first," Baby remarked. "Shocking I know, but it just felt like the right thing to do after killing that girl. At least it got you fired up a bit – show me what you can do."

For a whole ten seconds Piccolo said nothing in reply. He stood quietly atop the tallest skyscraper, feeling the tailwinds blow through his cape and the moist clouds pass him by. This would be one of the most intense battles of his life; he needed a few moments of calm to prepare. No longer did the ever-persistent influence of the Demon King press against his mind like a knife trying to dig its way out of his skull – he could fight properly now. Finally he spoke.

"How did you obtain that form?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"Another one of my new tricks," Baby said proudly. "Everyone on this planet has become fuel for my perfect stage of evolution. It's flawless in every way and completely irreversible."

"Completely irreversible huh?" Piccolo's hand suddenly worked its way up to his shoulders, where it grabbed a hefty shoulder pad of his weighted mantle. "I'm actually glad – that means I can kill you without any regrets. I'd be doing these people a kindness, being trapped inside you forever doesn't sound like a life they'd want to live."

Baby only sniggered in arrogance, as if the very idea of Piccolo ever beating him was ludicrous to him now. That snigger turned to a laugh as the namekian lifted the mantle off and over his shoulders. "Weighted training clothes? Come on! How much power do you really expect to gain by-"

A great bang interrupted Baby's speech as Piccolo let go of the caped garment. With its ridiculous new weight the mantle crashed straight through the metre-thick concrete he stood upon and careered down through the skyscraper without stop, smashing through floors as if they were no thicker than brittle wafer. Columns of smoke and scattering patches of dust rose up from the hole by his feet. Looking down Piccolo could see the very bottom of the tower where his clothing had cleared almost five hundred storeys before burying itself in a crater at the planet's ground level.

He looked back up to Baby, who remained suspended in a state of shock at the devastation caused. The thing must've weighed thousands of tonnes, and the way Piccolo walked never gave any indication that it was anything other than an ordinary mantle. Once more the namekain looked up with a glare of daggers.

"Why don't we find out?"

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: The one good thing about Pan being a young adult in this timeline is that I can kill her off without feeling any guilt whatsoever. . . Alright maybe a little - she didn't really do anything wrong in AF after all, she just annoyed the hell out of every watcher of GT.

Anyway sorry this is a little late. I've been real busy lately now that term has started again. . . And my copy of Gears of War 3 came. It just means you'll get the NEXT chapter sooner than a fortnight since I like to post them at weekends. This fight probably won't go on for much longer - three chapters is a bit long for a single battle, but at least now Piccolo and Baby can have an all-out brawl with no distractions. Piccolo's gonna have a new form as well; it won't be anything drastic - probably a really subtle change like Super Saiyan 1 to Super Saiyan 2, but it still should be cool.

Also, I recently realised that having the crab on namek as the one star instead of Alpha is a stupid idea, so now I've decided that it's OBVIOUSLY the Para Para Bros =P


	14. Chapter 14 Solace of Taulos

Chapter 14: Solace of Taulos

Piccolo's energy manifested itself as a raging tempest of wind. As his power began to climb the shrouding aura of his ki became visible in a tinge of blue, his strength wreaking destruction upon the tallest glimmering skyscraper. Tiny shards of ice combined immediately with gusts so powerful they could shred human skin, whiping up a great tornado that spiralled around him and cried out in the calls of two dissimilar pitches; the first a deep howl, the second a shrill whistle. It seemed like an external display of the cold, locked down emotions the namekian often exhibited, released into the world as a grand entrance for his incredible new power.

Beneath him the top ten floors of the already smoking building slowly crumbled into clouds of scattering dust. He hadn't just torn them apart; he'd literally broken them down to a molecular level by simply powering up. The lack of a surface didn't seem to bother him though. As the last patch of roof at his feet disappeared he lightly hovered in the air, his hand slowly reaching for the turban that sat atop his head.

Around him the blizzard raged on. Muscles expanded, the shining aura widened and Baby could've sworn Piccolo grew another two or three inches from his already dominating height. Even after the namekian had finished his power-up the razor sharp storm still continued.

Once his hand found the familiar white wrapping of his turban the battle began. Baby barely even managed to follow the movements of his arm before the massively weighted garment was sent spinning his way. Connecting to his chin with a force more powerful than any punch the parasite had ever experienced, the purple turban sent Baby crashing through ten streets of simultaneous buildings before it dropped to the ground in a crater, where it would stay until the battle was over.

Aching and humiliated with his arm still on fire, Baby limped out of the ruined building and onto the street some half a mile away. He patted the fire out as the tower erupted into flames behind him, creating a shockwave powerful enough to ruffle the lion's mane at the back of his scaly neck. Poultry, flashy explosions were little of his concern though; his eyes wildly scanned around the street for any signs of his namekian challenger.

Suddenly Piccolo landed half the length of the main road away from his adversary and began walking coolly towards him. Although the hurricane surrounding him had died down another odd phenomenon had instead taken its place. In a five metre radius the darkened street that spanned out from beneath his feet was instantly glazed over with a glistening sheen of ice. With every long, drawn out step he took towards Baby the ice followed him, stretching across the road one stride at a time.

After he rubbed his bleeding chin and healed the wound Baby took a moment to snigger; as dramatic and threatening as Piccolo's walk might be, if he carried on at that lingering pace it would take him a whole five minutes to cross the street. Little to Baby's knowledge though, Piccolo was not restricted by the range of normal men; he was about to learn that the hard way.

Once again his arm snapped out faster than a bolt of lightning. This time Baby saw the move, but he was still powerless to dodge its awesome speed as the namekian's thick, muscled arm suddenly stretched across fifty feet of open air. Before he could evade, the clawed green hand had already been clamped tightly around his arrogant running mouth, gripping him so tightly that Piccolo's nails drew blood from his cheeks before he retracted the arm, keeping a firm hold on the parasite as he did so.

Like whiplash of a stretched out bungee rope Baby found himself being dragged from his lower jaw across the street, meeting Piccolo's free hand right as it curled into a haymaker with enough force to shatter his whole new set of teeth. But Piccolo didn't stop there; time after time the namekian pounded Baby again and again having never released the clamp around his mouth, until bloody rivers ran deep across his face from every body part with a name. Once he was done the green man twisted around and kicked Baby straight through another row of skyscrapers which collapsed onto each other in a domino-effect.

Even that didn't seem to stop the Piccolo's rage; he was done playing around the moment this battle had even gotten started. Now that he was lighter, stronger and more pissed off than ever the time for words had come to an end. He started off down the path towards his downed opponent when a sudden burst of emerald light came streaming out of a man-sized hole where Baby had slammed through both walls of a nearby building.

Without thinking twice Piccolo took to the skies. Now that Baby had condensed his strength into one form attacking from all angles was impossible, yet his enemy was still swift and cunning enough to attack from his blindside. Piccolo darted right into a portion of the sky occupied by the parasite; the blast had been a simple diversion that allowed him to get the drop on his curious green foe and hammer him back down to the ground with a two-handed pummel.

Piccolo's fall was stopped by a cleaner bot of all things. The namekian slammed into the roof of the large, wheeled metal cuboid and crushed the five-tonne trash recycler like an empty can of soda, not to mention cracking the surrounding road like a sudden quake with the huge force of the impact. The moment he opened his eyes the Z-Fighter noticed Baby descending upon him, and so he rolled off the machine just in time to avoid having his skull crushed and kicked the parasite back into range some thirty feet across the street.

Now that he'd finally landed an attack Baby definitely looked much more pleased with himself, as if that one successful act confirmed to him that the battle could easily be won. It was only when Piccolo placed a hand on the back of his neck and loudly cracked it that Baby noticed he'd been fooled. Piccolo had _let _him land that attack, just to see what his opponent was made of.

"Is that really all you've got?" asked the fighter. The namekian didn't seem cruel or mocking in his words; it sounded like a genuine question – like he was legitimately disappointed.

Baby snarled and rushed forwards in blind anger, punching his way through the crushed cleaner bot with one hand and arching up the other as he flew. His brief grimace showed Piccolo that his once-square teeth had regenerated into sharp, almost vampiric fangs. His sloppy, rage-filled punch on the other hand showed Piccolo an easy opening that was too good to miss. He stopped the connection with a single hand before spinning Baby around into a simple yet effective hold.

"You won't be needing this arm."

In one powerful chop the namekian severed Baby's feathery forearm clean off from the shoulder down, hacking through muscle and bone like a sharpened hatchet and causing the parasite to squirm to the ground with a pitiful shriek of pain. Thick, silvery puss that smelled like wet paint oozed from the stump as Piccolo strode over. With his massive height the namekian positively dwarfed the cowering snake, his form casting a shadow over his foe. Using his one remaining hand Baby tried in vain to get back to his feet, only to find that the sudden shock of ice coating the floor caused him to slip back onto his knee with a bang.

"You think this is over?" said Baby, hissing in pain with his face scrunched up. "I've still got one good arm to kill you with!"

Suddenly the Frankenstein creation lurched back up to his feet. His arm swung round in a massive hook that was easily caught by Piccolo, who stood unblinking and unfazed. At this Baby grinned. In another vile discharge of silver fluid a second right arm sprung out of the painful stump of the parasite's shoulder.

An enormous, lobster-like grey pincer closed in on the namekian, thrown in a stabbing motion as soon as it appeared. Instead of resigning himself to being skewered through the chest though, Piccolo brought up his other arm and swatted the claw aside, as if he'd seen it coming a mile away.

Baby's feigned despair suddenly became sincere.

"You thought I didn't know you could regenerate?" Piccolo suddenly gripped both arms as tight as he could and ploughed a solid kick straight into Baby's stomach, watching in satisfaction as a wretch of stringy saliva flew from his opponent's mouth. "The teeth gave it away," he added.

"_Well then try this!_"

The next event was something even Piccolo couldn't predict. He heard the squelch of Baby's regeneration, though with no visible wounds in sight he had no idea where it came from. After a few moments his answer became clear, as the shelling of a large tail rose up from behind his foe, still coated in a thin film of slime as it writhed like a living being. At first the namekian was reminded of their old opponent Cell, though as the tail began to take shape he realised this was an entirely different breed of monster.

A dual-pronged scorpion's tail of enormous proportions rose up to a whole ten feet above the ground as a steel-hard shelling formed around the bonding muscle. Each stinger was curved, cruel and sharp; not to mention big enough to punch a hole straight through flesh if they struck true. Piccolo readied himself to dodge a stab from the two-headed stinger when something else happened. The ends began to glow with Baby's signature tone of lime green energy, gathering ki for a blast.

With another swift crack to Baby's shins the namekian released his hold and fled to the skies just in time to avoid a surge of energy from the tail that cracked the ice where he'd stood. Looking down he could see that Baby prepared himself for another regeneration right as two completely contrasting wings sprung from his back with another spurt of liquid that tainted the pure ice. One was thick, muscular and feathered in beautiful shades of white and brown, the other a thin, arched membrane like a bat wing.

In a single powerful flap Baby took to the skies. He approached more quickly now that his flight was accelerated by the heavy beating of wings; fast enough to force Piccolo into a lightning exchange that took them on a tour through the entire city. Punch after punch Piccolo and Baby hurled each other through reflective solar panels and reduced countless buildings into ash. The parasite used his new wings for attack and defence, and whilst his speed or power still didn't quite match up to that of the Z-Fighter, his movements were quickly accelerating as he got more and more used to his form.

The moment the pair broke Piccolo used his surroundings to his advantage. They'd parted in the midst of stalled traffic, so the namekian seized one of the hovering, stationary cars and hurled it Baby's way before kicking another like a football. One after another the metallic motors crashed into Baby, who used his eagle-looking wing to swipe one aside and blasted another into smoke with a quick burst from his new tail. It was a decent block, but Piccolo could work with smoke.

As a black cloud billowed into Baby's face Piccolo streamed through it, connecting a savage flying kick to the jaw and following up with a triple-punch combination. Two slammed hard into Baby's stomach, though before the third could reach his face two more arms sprouted from beneath the parasite's armpits and snapped up to deflect the attack.

Being forced into another blitz was a nightmare for Piccolo. With four arms, two legs, two wings and a formidable looking tail Baby had nine points of attack from which to attack his enemy instead of the usual four. He could simply thrash about and be immune to any damage; his nine limbs would protect him no matter the situation.

Darting back from a sudden lunge of the scorpion's tail backed Piccolo up into a wall, allowing the arm of some hairy bestial creature to barrel his way. The tactful Z-Fighter ducked under the blow, ignoring the collateral damage of a building collapsing behind him and diverting all his attention to landing a solid punch with an opportunity that would have been an opening in any normal battle.

Instead his fist was only trapped between a wing and a third arm, and his attack reversed against him as Baby flung him into the sky. The parasite closed in for another attack and again traded blows with Piccolo. Once the namekian had finally become accustomed to the nine-limbed freak Baby decided to take it a step further and sprout a set of twisted, demonic horns that managed to graze the namekian's shoulder at their initial surprise.

Not one decent blow had been landed since Baby's wings had appeared. In terms of raw power Piccolo remained leagues ahead, though the sheer inconvenience and awkwardness of fighting Baby's new form meant that to get anywhere near him was nigh-impossible. Once the two finally parted again the namekian used the time on his hands to think rationally. If only he had some way to bypass Baby's form and create an opening for him to unleash his full power.

He had to turn Baby's patchwork creation with its ten modes of attack into a weakness. The Demon King's power was now at his disposal; with his complete form Baby wouldn't stand a chance against a single high-powered blast if only Piccolo had the time to charge it or an opening to use it. It was in thinking of the Demon King though that Piccolo's answer finally arrived. He thought back to his last encounter with his father and the tactics he'd employed to win before Hyperion arrived to bail him out.

It had been a long time since he'd used the technique himself, but with the rushing punch of Baby now heading towards him Piccolo saw no other option. He focused his energy and then parted it into equal segments, forcefully tearing his body apart.

"_Multi-Form!"_

Baby heard Piccolo mutter something to himself before his well-timed strike hit nothing but air. He was permitted a few seconds of confusion before the strange technique presented itself. Five Piccolos suddenly ambsuhed him from every angle, bludgeoning him with precise strikes and smacking him around like a bloody piñata. Ten points of attack was formidable indeed, though five namekians had a grand total of twenty.

Now that both his power and amount of available limbs dwarfed Baby's the battle was all but over, and Piccolo cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. After countless synchronised blasts had been thrown his way Baby bounced from clone to clone, passed around like a soccer ball, only with fists instead of kicks. At last the fifth Piccolo brought up his foot and kneed Baby into the sky before the others streamed back into him.

With Piccolo back as one being he intercepted Baby's sky-rising flight and hammered him back down to ground level, where he crashed through all three layers of Taulos's traffic before finally cratering upon the street. Stunned and clinging to the cusp of consciousness, Baby stared up with a single eye through the carnage he'd wrought upon the street, finding to his horror that Piccolo hovered some thousand metres above him, a golden glow already visible in his palms.

Full mobility might return to his arms, legs, wings or tail in a minute or so, yet Baby knew he didn't have a minute to spare. Up above, the frosty typhoon from Piccolo's blizzard had restarted again as the familiar attack in his hands was tainted with streaks of black that ran around its border, signifying the energy from that terrifying presence he'd felt earlier. After ten seconds or so the attack was primed; Piccolo crossed his hands over his head in a vague x-shape before throwing the beam down without a moment's hesitation.

"_Demonic Masenko!_"

* * *

The events that followed the explosion Piccolo remembered only through a haze. Lightheaded and disorientated, he recalled fleeing his titanic golden-black explosion that set the sky alight. He darted from building to building, stepping off each one right as they crumbled to ash. High-speed flight was beyond him in his fatigue, but he could still run and jump to escape the explosion.

Piccolo must've crossed half the planet before the blast finally simmered down to allow him a few moments of respite. Behind him was a blackened wasteland, a graveyard of collapsed towers and ruined cars like the nuclear fallout of an atomic bomb, only on a much larger scale. Nothing stirred beyond the wreckage; particles of shadowy dust flowed to the surface like snow, but there was nothing alive to be felt anywhere except for the steady pulse of the namekian's own power level.

The blood of close to a trillion innocents was on his hands. No; Piccolo reminded himself of his error the moment the thought crossed his mind. _Baby _was responsible for all those lives. Alpha had called him the Dragon of Sloth, and Piccolo supposed it made sense in an obscure kind of way. He had an army at his disposal and countless resources that made training unnecessary. In fact the only time he ever had to exert himself was at the very end.

His abomination of a form was irreversible; there was nothing he could've done to save the lives of the people of Taulos. If anything Piccolo had been merciful in granting them safe passage to the afterlife. Pan was another story though.

The namekian couldn't help but keep replay that same scene over and over in his head, wondering whether or not he could've done something to save her – something that might spare her the horrifying pain that came from being killed. He went through different scenarios and thought through different techniques, each of which resulted in her death every time. After hours of walking he finally reached the Capsule Five, still tired from his victory.

The doors opened up for him as he staggered up the ramp, welcoming him with that same irritating female voice whilst he poured himself a glass of water and made his way over to the living room, collapsing on the blue sofa. For five minutes he sat there catching his breath. His maximum power now used up so much strength that it never ceased to exhaust him, even when used in short bursts. He'd meant to save it for Alpha; Baby had proven himself worthy of it the moment he transformed though.

Nothing would have pleased Piccolo more than to simply lay there and rest for hours, but to do so would just be delaying the inevitable. He had to get the real battle out of the way before he cut himself a break – he owed it to his friends.

"Call," he suddenly announced. "Capsule One and Capsule Three."

Suddenly the plasma screen whirred to life; the screen was split in half down the middle, depicting two different still photos. One was of a smiling Goku, the other an old picture taken right before their first trip to Namek of Gohan and Krillin stood side by side.

"_Confirm?_" asked the computer.

Piccolo waited a few seconds as his eyes lingered over the pictures. They looked so happy now, but he couldn't help but wonder how they'd look in a few minutes. "Confirm," he said at last.

Right away the two photos were replaced by symmetrical green icons that vibrated. The wait couldn't have been shorter – Piccolo wasn't even at the end of his deep, preparing breath when Goku answered the phone, followed immediately after by Gohan and Krillin. Pan's father and grandfather both looked agitated; clearly Goku had already contacted his son to give him a rundown of the situation.

"Piccolo? What happened?" asked their fearless leader. "I felt Hyperion heading towards your planet, is he alright? Where's Pan?"

After another deep sigh Piccolo answered the eager, anxious looks of his comrades. "Hyperion's heading after you. If he catches up he might be able to help you out against Alpha when he arrives. . . But Pan's dead – Baby killed her. It's my fault and I'm sorry."

Piccolo's quick delivery was followed by the longest two seconds of his life as the shock of the two saiyans became apparent. As Gohan buried his head in his hands Goku nodded in quietly controlled anger. Unfortunately that anger wasn't controlled for very long; he paced around the room before the solid wall acted as the displacement object for his rage. He slammed a fist into it with a loud bang, and when he turned back to the screen he didn't seem to notice that his hair had turned gold.

He cursed, "Damn it Piccolo! How could you let this happen?"

"Pan. . . No. . ." Gohan continued to mutter to himself, as though he couldn't quite believe his child was gone.

"You said you'd protect her!" yelled Goku.

Piccolo said nothing in reply, he only dipped his head in shame and stared at the floor – it was easier than looking at Goku or Gohan.

"Hang on a second Goku," Krillin intervened. "This isn't Piccolo's fault you know, I'm sure he did everything he c-"

"_Krillin!_" screamed the namekian. The short, bald man recoiled as Piccolo sent a glare his way. Piccolo knew that whether this was his fault or not wasn't the issue here – it was always easier to blame someone living than someone dead. They would forgive him in time, but for now the namekian was content with them blaming him as a punishment for his failure.

"But there's Hyperion's road! If Raditz and the others managed to cross it then I'm sure Pan could be brought back as well!" said Krillin.

Piccolo admired the man for taking his side over two of his best friends who also just happened to be two of the most powerful forces in the known universe, but even so he shook his head in reply. "That's not the point and you know it Krillin. You've been killed more times than anyone."

"Rub it in," Krillin pouted.

"You know as well as I do that it's not exactly a pleasant experience. Someone her age shouldn't have to go through something like that."

Krillin finally understood; Piccolo was right – a nineteen year old girl whose combat experience was rather limited should've been spared the fate of an early death. He didn't want to point it out to the others, but another disturbing thought hit him. Vegeta and the others might've made it back in just six months, but all of them were seasoned, veteran warriors who each had the strength, speed and stamina of at least a Super Saiyan 4. If she flew by herself, then how long would it take for a fighter like Pan?

Piccolo went back to keeping his head lowered as Krillin finally nodded in understanding. For the next five minutes he was subjected to the teary response of Gohan and the angry comments of his saiyan father. The usually passive and cheery Goku seemed like he wanted to revive Baby if only to kill him a third time, something he'd only seen a few times.

At long last Piccolo excused himself and disengaged the call; those five minutes had felt more like five days to him, longer than any battle he'd ever fought with the Demon King, and at the end of it all he felt twice as beaten up.

* * *

Millions of miles through deep space away, a lone saiyan woke up to the sound of his alarm, buzzing incessantly in his ear like an angry housewife. Raditz flipped it off, and without even giving himself an extra five minutes on the 'snooze' option he rolled out of bed through sheer willpower. Two hours sleep had been customary for the saiyan since he took off two days ago, but he knew it was necessary if he wanted to rival the power of the others.

His brother and Prince, Goku and Vegeta, were both adept at the Super Saiyan 5; his tutor Piccolo's strength had multiplied tenfold and his nephew Gohan seemed to have unlimited reserves of power yet to be tapped into. On top of that the youngest two, Trunks and Goten, could fuse to become another formidable Super Saiyan 5. Even though he occupied a healthy middle ground in terms of power, Raditz's insecurities about his own energy had increased once he saw what the others could do, and how powerful the Shadow Dragons were.

Bulma had told him that he'd reach the Four Star in a day or two; he'd used that time to train like a madman now that he was in one place, but it still wasn't enough. His eyelids felt weighted with tonne-heavy dumbbells; his stamina began to reach its limits, and yet as hard as he tried the Super Saiyan 5 still seemed lightyears away - an unrealistic fool's goal. Even so, that never stopped him from his routine programme that consisted of thousands of push-ups and sit-ups. After spending hours fixed to the bar performing those same boring exercises over and over again he'd flip back down to the floor and work on his martial arts.

He punched and kicked until his arms could no longer move, stringing together swift combinations in the triple digits that he'd never even dreamed of before being restored to life. The ship was great; it absorbed even the most powerful blasts he could dish out and the gravity machine was great for pushing his body to the maximum, but it wasn't perfect. With the Kaio-Ken as his signature move Raditz liked to spend most of his time in the air, using all the space in the sky to his advantage. Being enclosed in such a small space naturally meant that practicing in that style proved difficult.

By the time he was done the jet black gi he wore had darkened by two shades underneath the arms and around his chest. He fell on his back, bruising it on the triple-titanium layered floor upon impact. In his state of total wipe-out the saiyan was unable to move even a finger, so when the phone began to ring it was all he could manage to mutter "Answer," as loud as he could.

Fortunately it worked; half a dozen voices echoed around the ship's upstairs speakers; Raditz tried to identify them as he lay on his back, head spinning and limbs aching.

"Raditz? Where are you?" said a voice – Raditz figured it was Goten's, confused as to why he didn't stand in front of the monitor on the lower deck.

"I'm upstairs," said the saiyan. "I kinda burned myself out with the Super Kaio-Ken so moving might take a while. There must be microphones for me to speak up here too."

Bardock laughed. "Probably, but don't push it too far son. You'll be fighting soon, remember?"

"Yeah I know – I've still got twenty hours or so to get some rest though. Anyway I don't hear Goku and Gohan."

Raditz's ears were right; Goku and Pan from Capsule One along with Gohan and Krillin from Capsule Three hadn't picked up their calls, and with Tien still missing the number of Z-Fighters had been drastically crippled. Only seven of them remained in the conference call – it should've been at least a dozen. Vegeta was gone already; Novus too. No longer did their conversation reek of camaraderie, banter and youthful excitement, it was strictly business without Goku.

"They're busy, just leave them be," said Piccolo. Something behind his mentor's tone told Raditz that the namekian was hiding something, yet in his current state he was far too exhausted to pursue it any further.

"I take it you beat the Seven Star then?" chimed Uub, his voice still frayed from his encounter with his nemesis. For once Raditz was glad he couldn't see the young man's face; he must've still been pale as a ghost.

"I did. It wasn't without sacrifice though," lamented Piccolo. "He wiped out everyone on the planet to get to me."

"It's a heavy price, but you defeated a Shadow Dragon. Three down, four to go." Bardock sounded more troubled than any at the very mention of a mass genocide, having tried in vain to stop that of his own. "Which was it?"

"Baby," said Piccolo.

"I know that name," offered King Vegeta. "He was the Tuffle creation you fought a few years ago, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He tried to get vengeance for his planet – if he knew you were alive I know he'd want the first swing at you."

The King gulped as Trunks decided to get back down to business. "So we can assume the One Star is Alpha. That just leaves three left that should be enemies from our past."

"We know one of them is a Vicis," recalled Goten beside him, thinking back to the brief conversation he'd had with a startled Tien.

"Alright so that leaves two," Trunks corrected himself.

"Yeah, and no one gets a medal for working out which two," said Piccolo bitterly. "Gohan needs to watch his back. You too Raditz; whichever one you get, neither will be a walk in the park."

But Raditz was only half listening – he was too dazed and out of reach to join up the dots and work out which two potential foes he could be squaring off against, after all he'd been dead almost their entire career – there was no one he could face who might hold a grudge against him.

Even if he wasn't in the middle of recovering from one of the most trying days in his last few years he probably wouldn't have cared much anyway. Raditz was always more of an 'in the now' kind of saiyan, taking things as they came without much afterthought. There was no sense getting himself wound up over an enemy who he knew only by reputation.

"Hyperion's returned as well," he heard Piccolo say. "He put me back in this world for good, then he set off after Goku towards the One Star."

That got Raditz's attention. He blinked back into reality and craned his neck with an awful pain so that he could see the radar fixed to the control panel. Sure enough, the One Star was there – he hadn't just imagined Piccolo's words. If Hyperion was back then so to must be Novus. Raditz smiled at the idea of seeing one of his best friends again, and only wished that Goku or Vegeta were also able to chat.

Vegeta. . . Where _was _the Prince of all Saiyans? If he sustained some kind of serious injury then he would've died from it by now, and yet the King still insisted that he could feel the Prince's energy signal. Was he just trying to make his way back in some ship? Or was he somehow waiting for the last moment, when all seemed hopeless for someone in battle so that he could fly in with dramatic flair and save the day. Whatever the case, Raditz knew that he'd feel much better with Vegeta watching his back.

* * *

Lights spun overhead. Faster than his eyes could follow the infinite void of space whirled above him. Unable to blink, unable to move, the man simply led there amidst the eternity, thinking about how long he'd been like this as blinking stars from every colour beyond the rainbow flickered from his prison. The universe had stopped still; by now the concept of time had slipped away from him. How long was it now? A few hours? Or a few years?

Try as he might even his eyes would not move. Looking down to check whether or not he still existed was completely prohibited, making him paranoid that he'd somehow died when no one was looking. He thought of home as his eyes raced past another nebula; of Planet Earth where his wife and son awaited his safe return. Eventually, after all that time floating through the darkness a single light appeared – an open doorway, glowing with a beautiful white light.

Drifting towards it felt like embarking on the staircase to heaven. Even if the light was so intense that it damaged his eyes he was past the point of caring that he could no longer squint. Whether it took him hours or days to reach it he could not say, but all he knew was that he had to reach that door. All feeling had gone from him – he'd been robbed of warmth or life or breath for so long, and this entrance had to be the next frontier.

He stood by his wishes when he finally drifted like a carefree cloud through the open doorway, though he'd come to regret them after a short time.

After a fall the Prince of all Saiyans landed hard on his front to a solid floor, bruising his chest and smacking his chin. Warmth flooded his fingertips, life was given back to his muscles and his breath suddenly returned in one great gasp. His chest throbbed, and after noticing that, he never thought he'd be so happy to experience the sensation of pain again.

"_Broly!"_ he remembered, scrambling to his feet. A thousand images had suddenly been bored into his mind like an injection of recent memories. He recalled fighting the Legendary Super Saiyan, and then with a sigh of relief remembered how he'd killed the brute with his last act.

It was only then that Vegeta took the time to take note of his current situation, whatever the hell it was. He stood in the middle of a bleached-white landscape, a featureless void as far as the eye could see with no indicator of where the floor or the roof began. He'd been here before only once, and he wasn't the first in recent history to do so either. Another few saiyans and a certain namekian had visited this place.

It was the arena of his mind – the marble white stretch of nothingness that was the battleground for the very first Super Saiyan 5 transformation. In remembering this Vegeta turned around and dropped into a combat stance; expecting an attack from any angle, his eyes rushed across the void, until finally he realised that no one else was here.

After a while he began to _wish_ that the same colossal great ape he'd fought before would show its ugly face, for this desolate stretch of land was the coldest, most unforgiving and remotest place he'd ever encountered. Vegeta had always been a lone wolf – he'd spent whole years in the Room of Spirit and Time by himself, but this was different. Back in there he could always see the door, and he had that nifty hourglass to show him exactly how much time he had left.

In here there was nothing, no visible exit and an environment that guaranteed that same feeling of not knowing how much time had passed returned. He paced around for a time trying to think of a way out before his mind skipped to training; he figured he might as well make some use of his stationary position, but it was little use – he couldn't power up and he couldn't even fly.

Every now and again something would catch his attention; he was so desperate to see someone else that his mind began to make things up free of his own volition. A scurrying mouse would turn out to be him absently twitching his boot, and other things would catch his attention for a moment like the sides of his hair, the rips in his outfit or the scar than ran around his right forearm where Chronus had severed it three years ago.

That kind of boredom would have driven a lesser man insane in here, but not Vegeta. He clung to his memories, grasping what he had left: Trunks and Bulma; even the reminder of Kakarot kept him alive, but it still wasn't long before the horrible, torturous reality began to finally sink in.

In here, he was completely _alone_.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sooo much cold imagery! I swear I must've spent this last fortnight in a coolbox because my latest chapters have all been about frost and cold. Quite a bit to talk about here I suppose, starting off with the main issue Piccolo. That strange ice/blizzard form he now has is just something I thought of a couple of weeks ago – I figured that since the Super Saiyan form often involves lightning and sometimes fire, then someone like Piccolo could easily use ice, since it kinda goes with his personality.

That fight was pretty short but it went on for three chapters I guess, and I liked the ending. That was actually all made up on the fly – I went into the chapter with just the idea that Piccolo would win with no specific details, but the battle really seemed characterised for him, like how he notices things that other people wouldn't and uses strategy gained from recent experience. Even aside from that, he's one of the most powerful Z-Fighters in AF at the moment. I'd say only Goku and Vegeta could take him in a fight, so he's back in top form, something he never really managed in the last saga.

And speaking of Vegeta! What the hell is going on with him! Honestly I wanted to wait much longer before I gave you any information on his whereabouts, but then I just decided to give you a little snippet here, just as insurance so you know he's alive (Can't take King Vegeta's word for anything can we?).

So three more old villains to go. The next contender is good old Raditz! Who will be his opponent? And will he survive? Or will he meet the same fate as Pan? FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON DRAGON BALL A- Hang on I just noticed something! All these first three villains have began with the letter B. I mean think about it, there was Broly, Buu, and then Baby. So in light of that I have decided to make the One Star dragon not Alpha, the namekian sea crab OR the Para Para Bros. It's General Blue!

And before you ask, yes, this joke _will _continue until Goku fights Alpha. And yes, I know it's stupid, just let me have my fun.


	15. Chapter 15 The Tyrant Returns

Chapter 15: The Tyrant Returns

Tien had no idea how idea how many days had passed since he was left stranded on this dirty, dank marshland jungle of a planet. The days here were longer, and even then he slept only a few hours a night. If he lingered in one place for too long he was at risk of being spotted by the millions-strong army of Vynuls, or worse, the Vicis himself. He'd survived here for so long by staying to the shadows of the jungle canopy and keeping his power at a level that could be easily mistaken for a wild animal.

Whenever he engaged a squad of Vynuls he made sure to take on teams of no more than a dozen; any more than that and they could keep him occupied until more and more showed up. He'd lived by learning from his mistakes; waiting silently in the bushes and the trees of the dense, misty forests and pouncing like a puma when the chance arose.

Now was one of those moments. He watched with his legs crossed from sixty feet up, covered by the shadow of a leaf bigger than himself that hung over the stiff vine he sat upon. Torn and retied fabric from his pants beneath the knees was now wrapped around his neck in a makeshift scarf, and thick lines of mud painted across his pale face for natural camouflage.

As a falcon waiting on its prey, Tien sat up on high and waited patiently for a full two hours at one of the many Vynul encampments that had been set up on the borders of the forest. At last, half of them disbanded and headed north, giving him his chance to strike. Death claimed the remainder of the group as the shadow of the well-built triclops became the last thing each Vynul saw. Their cries of alarm were silenced by a sudden hand over their mouths, twisting with a firm grip and snapping necks in an instant.

By the time the whole group became aware of his presence the damage was already done, as only three remained alive. With a rush faster than any could follow Tien whirled around and drove his fist straight through the belly of the first nearby Vynul. A greyish, murky substance that Tien could only assume was its blood spurted from the exit wound of his hand and flowed down his arm.

Another of the ghoulish patchwork creatures ran in with an attempt at sidewinding the man, though a swift duck from Tien ensured that the monster's lumbering fist only slammed into its teammate. The punch finished off the Vynul that Tien had skewered and knocked him off the Z-Fighter's arm, which in turn enabled Tien to stand abruptly back up to his full height and knock out the second with a simple headbutt.

Only one now remained, and right as Tien saw it consider fleeing he blasted it with a highly concentrated dose of ki from his palm. The man didn't even have time to survey his efficient handiwork; he had to move quickly and get out whilst he still had the chance. Vynuls were stationed in camps a few miles apart from each other; at least one of them would have noticed the sudden demolition of a nearby group. He had no choice but to keep moving.

Back into the jungle Tien fled, gliding from tree to tree using the low gravity of the planet rather than flying to make sure his power was masked. After another ten minutes or so he came to the other side of this particular patch of forest, granting him the look at a nostalgic sight he'd long since forgotten about.

Another plane of sterile swampland stretched out from the shaded wilderness; but this one, as featureless as it might be, was familiar to Tien. This was where he'd first landed here on this wretched, ugly planet. He could see the huge indenture in the ground where he'd flattened a small group of Vynuls with an advanced Tri-Beam. Capsule Four also lay rooted to the spot at the centre of the clearing.

Since he ran, Tien had watched from afar with a smile as countless Vynuls and the Six Star himself had tried in vain to get inside the locked ship without ever putting a dent it in. He couldn't help but silently thank Mrs. Vegeta's brilliance. Bulma had built these capsules from the ground up, using the same alloy as Vegeta's old arm to craft everything from the reinforced walls to the toilets.

That same metal had been created to withstand blasts from Goku's maximum power as a Super Saiyan 5, and their old villain Chronus had been at his fullest before he managed to damage it – Tien reckoned a real hand would've broken or come off much sooner.

Around the ship at least five camps of Vynuls were stationed in plain sight. Since they couldn't get in, Tien knew they must've simply been on the lookout for him. They expected him to come back at some point, and he wouldn't give them the opportunity – he hadn't learned enough yet. Even so, here was his chance to gain the information he'd sought so desperately: who was the Six Star? He was down there alright, Tien could feel it.

It was a question he'd been asking himself ever since he got here. He'd felt the incredible energy signal a few times already but had never been close enough to get a decent look at the clock face tattoo upon its chest that would give him an idea of how powerful they were. Backup would arrive soon; Tien knew this, and yet a part of him still wanted to go out there and check who was running the shots here.

He couldn't very well defer to reinforcements in good conscience knowing that he hadn't even learned the _name_ of whatever was terrorising this planet, his pride wouldn't allow it. Then again, he _had _managed to whittle down the endless number Vynuls to about half of their original size. Fighting them was still maddening though; for every two he killed, another one would show up through a portal conjured by the Six Star.

Having made up his mind, Tien decided that he'd wait for nightfall and get a better look at the man in charge when suddenly a catastrophe happened. Being focused on the scene ahead of him ensured that he was blind to the rest of the jungle though, and there began his downfall. Clearly his raids hadn't gone unnoticed by the Six Star, who in response to Tien's attacks had begun to post squads out in the forest too.

The valiant Z-Fighter had never noticed the small camp of Vynuls that lay just forty metres to his left until a shining energy blast whizzed through the canopy towards him. Tien's instincts took over. To evade, he burst out of the jungle without thinking and right into the direct, murky sunlight and open ground of the marsh.

Power levels lit up around him like Christmas lights. Over two hundred Vynuls had suddenly become aware of his presence. Just two hundred might have been manageable if they were the only ones involved, but the moment the Six Star's power flared up to a peak Tien knew he was doomed. The light, slightly shifting gravity of the planet suddenly shot up like a rocket.

Gravity levels that had once been in the region of negative fifty times that of Earth launched into the positive mid-hundreds in the blink of an eye. Since he'd gotten so used to his feather-light weight, the change was so drastic that Tien dropped like a boulder before he had time to readjust. He hit the ground elbow-first, slamming into the underbrush so hard that his bone felt as though it might tear out of his skin.

Thankfully it didn't, but the damage he sustained was still serious; if it wasn't a fracture he'd broken it for sure. He prayed it was the former until realising to his disappointment that it would've made little difference. When his eyes left the ground he found himself staring up at the Six Star Shadow Dragon. A large man with a figure wider than even Goku's loomed over him; piercing blue eyes stared out from a mop of matted brown hair.

A shirtless torso displayed his physique for all to see, showing a muscular form that approached even the Legendary Super Saiyan's. His arms had the girth of melons, throbbing with veins so tight that he looked as if he was about to explode. If he resolved to putting a shirt on though, he'd be able to pass for an ordinary citizen of planet Earth – a bodybuilder perhaps, or even a pro wrestler.

However it was the enormous tattoo of a clock face upon his bare chest that confirmed he was not of any world in the cosmos. This man was a Vicis, born in a shadowy prison of untold time as a result of his master's countless years of experimentation. The hour hand on the clock displayed the power of each of the Vices, with one o'clock being the weakness and twelve being the most powerful. Tien had of course drawn the short straw; even without the tattoo he knew from their brief encounter three years ago that this man was Duodecimus, the captain of the Vices.

At the centre of the clock face a Dragon Ball now lay, supplying him with greater power now that he'd joined Alpha's team. It all made sense to Tien now - he should have seen it before. All the Vices without fail had unique abilities that set them apart from their peers, and the captain's was that of gravitational manipulation.

When Duodecimus fought Vegeta, the Prince had experienced a hard time getting close to the twelve o'clock Vicis; any time he went in for the kill Duodecimus would throw up the gravity of his immediate environment to keep him at bay. Of course, this time around his powers had been boosted by the Dragon Ball protruding from his chest – it explained the unstable gravity and subtle changes this world went through: by now Duodecimus's powers must've evolved to the point where he could control the entire planet.

The Vicis grabbed Tien by the neck and pulled him up a few inches off the ground. His grip was concrete, and from the moment his skin touched Tien's the Z-fighter thought he'd died on the spot. Indescribable pain shot through his body as every bone and muscle was placed under the strain of gravity he simply couldn't handle, suffocating him with a weight like a whole planet crashing down on him.

The smallest bones went first – the thinner extremities like his fingers and toes shattered under the pressure. If that wasn't enough pain the larger ones followed. Ribs, wrists and ankles caved in on themselves with sickening cracks. Tien roared from collapsing lungs, his scream echoing around the planet for miles as he diverted every ounce of energy he had to his neck, strengthening it to make sure that didn't snap as well.

He'd been exhausted of his life's ki, beaten to near death and blasted with energy that contained all the power of a supernova before today, but this was by far the worst pain he'd ever experienced. Forming a fist was impossible with crushed knuckles – in that moment Tien couldn't help but wish for death. If he didn't get a senzu bean soon he'd die for sure, yet his fate was left uncertain even to himself as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Fresh as a daisy Raditz awoke after hours of sleep that crossed into the double digits. The ship's alarm alerted him to the imminent arrival of the planet he been heading towards these last three days. He showered, slipped into his gi and debated whether or not to call the others before making his way out to the great bay window on the upper deck.

For the first time in his life the saiyan found something that took his breath away. Seeing a planet up close and personal from the view of a ship was a sight to behold, and even though he'd visited many in his life, none looked quite as spectacular as this one. The surface appeared to be made of rock hard diamond, twinkling blue-metal sparks under the light of its only sun.

Its size was titanic compared to his home; it could've easily been forty or fifty times bigger than Planet Vegeta. He'd come to expect this after hearing similar reports from Piccolo and Gotenks, but seeing it for himself was another matter – the planet was enormous, a battleground fitting for such a grand fight that the lives of everyone in the universe rested upon.

Flying solo made the experience all the more intense. He would've loved a companion, but something about doing this alone made it more personal. If he succeeded, none of the other Z-Fighters would've been able to gaze at this stunning world, with its mountainous valleys of sharp crystals glimmering in shallow oases. This was _his _experience and his alone.

The idea that such an evil creature could be posted here baffled him. Had Alpha no regard for a planet's beauty whatsoever? Something about this world seemed to communicate that it should have been lifeless, a place that was home only to the gems that thrived above the water. Energy readings from the ship, however, told a different story. Around ten thousand power signals were down there, and something about their texture told Raditz that they weren't locals.

They seemed evil; that was for sure. They seemed old too – old weary soldiers that had never let die that spark of malevolence. Clearly they were either brought or summoned here by whatever vile thing had claimed the Four Star ball for itself. Whilst these minions were no threat in the slightest, the Four Star itself was another story.

Its power was monstrous, a foul omen that tainted the planet's glory. Anyone who wasn't energy-sensitive could look at this nameless world and feel joy, but someone like Raditz couldn't help but feel repulsed by the vile scent of an evil power. He realised it was hypocritical coming from someone who'd once revelled in evil as the ship plunged headlong into the atmosphere, and as he focused on the Four Star he sensed a vague feeling of familiarity.

He'd felt this presence before; he knew it, and yet he couldn't quite put a name to the energy signal. He realised that he must've come across this particular fiend during his stay in hell and dismissed the idea from his mind.

Through a light shower of clouds Capsule Six hurtled into the planet's atmosphere. The computer told him that this particular planet was ten times the gravity of Earth and he couldn't help but smile at this – it was the same pressure as Planet Vegeta, meaning he had the advantage here.

He actually felt guilty as the ship ploughed into a large, glittering crystal and smashed it to bits upon impact. After a rocky first contact Capsule Six quickly straightened itself out and automatically found a location in which to land. The stilts doubled over and were submerged in a few inches of sun kissed water. Steam poured from the valves on its underside, and the moment the engines stopped the blast door depressurised, allowing the eager saiyan to step out onto the unfolding stairs.

The first thing he noticed was that the bluish-white crystals that made up this world were far larger than he'd first expected and far more beautiful. No rust or dirt stained their magnificence; gleaming like transparent marble they rose up to heights ranging from small houses to small mountains, dagger sharp and lethal to any who might fall on them.

The second thing he noticed was a large band of insubstantial powers racing towards him from a nexus point a few miles inland, no doubt a base where the Four Star had made its lair. His instincts told him to prepare for battle, yet after a brief moment to scan the party he knew for sure that these minions were hardly a match for him. He waited, off-guard and indifferent, and less than a minute later a troop of no more than a hundred flew in over one of the many oversized crystals.

"Oh look at that, a welcoming party," muttered Raditz. One by one the soldiers touched down, allowing him to get a good look at each of them.

They were aliens of the northern quadrant, all of them bipedal with slightly above average power levels for their race. Before, Raditz had believed this to be a highly impersonal mission, knowing that he would've never met any of the foes Goku and the others had fought over the years. One look at their attire on the other hand proved him otherwise.

Every one of them wore a set of traditional saiyan armour that Raditz had long since abandoned, and each face was framed by a glass scouter that served to calculate an opponent's strength. The moment he saw them it all became clear; the Four Star Shadow Dragon could only be the tyrant that ruled his people with an iron fist before destroying his planet out of fear. These beings were remnants of Frieza's army; they were the few followers that had remained loyal to their overlord even so many years after his demise at the hands of Goku.

A large ogre of a man suddenly stepped out of the crowd of foes that surrounded Raditz. "What business have you got here?" he asked. "Turn around while you still have the chance."

"Fool!" Another pink, reptilian creature strode out of the mob to join him. "Look at him, he's a saiyan! Remember what Lord Frieza said about them?"

"Don't be a coward, he's just a small fry!" jeered the ogre. With a grin spreading across his moustachioed face the man tapped a finger to the oversized button on his temple. Raditz chuckled as a targeting circle appeared on the red glass of the man's scouter, followed by a quick flicker of digits.

"See, he's only got a power level of ten!"

Containing his laugh, Raditz brought up his right hand in a threatening pose, his middle finger pressed up to his thumb. A hundred explosions went off around him with just a click of his fingers; his power level shot up and back down again so fast that none around could even comprehend what had happened. He hadn't even turned Super Saiyan yet; this was just a fraction of his power.

"I always wanted to do that," he joked.

A blast suddenly erupted from his flank, but the small sphere of energy moved like a tortoise to Raditz now. He turned around at a leisurely pace, shooting the alien with a hard glare before he caught the yellow light simply by pointing at it. The blast stuck to his finger as he lifted it up to his face, spinning it around with his free hand like a basketball."

"Take me to Frieza," added Raditz. "I warn you, It'll be difficult to fight you without killing you. Try punching a greenfly without crushing it and you'll see what I mean."

* * *

It was already late when a visitor decided to drop in on Capsule Seven. Bardock was still fast asleep, though the senses of the Saiyan King Vegeta lit up like a bonfire the moment a foreign invader transmitted aboard. Instead of waking up his friend though, Vegeta decided he could handle it alone, and padded out of bed sparking up a globe of energy in either hand.

Twin spheres of golden lit up the darkened training room as he hovered up the ladders, pointing them in both directions to make sure he had every angle covered. Both hands snapped to the front once he noticed a tall, curious being casually propped up against the great pillar at the middle of the room.

The man – a purplish being with chalk white hair that ran down his back – seemed completely unfazed by the two great balls of energy a now-Super Saiyan King Vegeta pointed his way. He pushed himself off the gravity machine and dusted off his noble red and sky blue outfit before extending a greeting hand.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure," he said, his voice soft and indifferent. "I'm Kibito-Kai."

King Vegeta diffused the energy blasts in his hands and barked at the ship for some light. He'd heard about this man from the others and that he was an ally, but his sudden appearance prevented him from shaking the overseer's hand. Instead he only narrowed his already low brow in suspicion. "What is it you want?" he asked.

"Just council, if you'd hear it," said the Kai without pause.

King Vegeta nodded and took a seat by the control panel, offering Kibito-Kai the opposing leather chair. The man took it without question and the King's look acted as his cue to continue.

"The planet you're headed towards, the Shadow Dragon there just decided to show his face. He's a Vicis – Chronus's magnum opus back in the day of his reign – he goes by Duodecimus."

King Vegeta recoiled. "I know that name – my son fought him didn't he?"

"Indeed. This Shadow Dragon will be tough; your son had to transform into a Super Saiyan 5 to defeat him, and now Duodecimus has been pushed further by the power of a negatively charged Dragon Ball," informed Kibito Kai.

The king couldn't help but wonder why this 'Kai' didn't participate in the action considering he knew so much. He supposed the overseer must've been weaker than the average Z-Fighter. Whatever the case, this news spelled bad news for them. "Neither Bardock nor I can become a Super Saiyan 5."

"No," the Kai fished around in his pockets and pulled out a pair of strange looking rings, red and purple in colour, "but with these you'd be more powerful – hopefully powerful enough to stop him." He handed the fusion rings to the King, who turned them over twice in his hand before inspecting them closely up against his eye.

"What are they?"

"Fusion rings," said Kibito-Kai. He caught a look at the King's upcoming objection and corrected himself quickly. "Don't worry. They're completely reversible and you don't need that peculiar dance to use them. They're also the last pair I have, so use them well."

But the King still looked unimpressed. He said, "Why give them to us? Surely there are others who need them more."

"Goten and Trunks already have a pair. I originally planned to give the other pair to your sons, but the Prince is missing, and Goku and Raditz are lightyears away from each other right now. Aside from them, you and Bardock are the most compatible two for fusion. Legend says another pair exists out there, but I've yet to find them."

King Vegeta nodded in understanding and pocketed the two rings. He wanted to know where his son was more than any, but despite trying dozens of times every single day he simply could not get a fix on Vegeta's location. One question still eluded him though. "The other," he asked, "the one who requested our help – Tien. What happened to him?"

Kibito-Kai sighed and lowered his gaze. "I must confess I'm unsure. He's been defeated, but whether he's dead or alive is a mystery to me. There are so many powers on that planet that picking just one out was difficult before, and after his beating his energy would be far too low for me to detect. I wondered whether you might help?"

King Vegeta shook his head. Regrettably there was little he could do to. "I've never met Tien before – I have to know an energy signal before I lock onto it."

"I see." The Kai rose. He gave a wave of farewell and seemed about to leave before a third figure appeared at the hatch leading downstairs. Bardock was up again, but something was different this time.

His hair and forehead were quite literally dripping with sweat. His breathing sounded like he'd just gone twelve rounds with one of his sons and a shaking hand nursed his throbbing temple. Shirtless, staggering and nauseous, Bardock made his way over to them before flopping hopelessly on the ground, his bare back enjoying the cool surface of the metallic training room.

"Bardock? Are you okay?" asked Kibito-Kai.

"He's had another vision," presumed the King. It wasn't a question – he knew that look and what it meant for his oldest friend. "Haven't you?"

As he struggled to catch his breath back Bardock nodded, and after the King fetched him some water he was finally able to reply. "It's Gohan," he managed. "It's my grandson – I think he's in danger. We have to turn back, we're closest to him!"

As much as he hated to do it, King Vegeta's only option was to refuse his friend. He shook his head again and elaborated, "It's too late for that now. By the time we reach him Gohan's battle would have already been and gone. Besides, we can't just abandon the Six Star. If he's still alive then this 'Tien' will be counting on us to save his life."

"And if he's dead?" asked Bardock, to which the King replied without thinking.

"Then avenge it."

"But we can't just ignore this!"

"We don't have a choice. Your grandson is stronger than either of us; if whatever he's about to face is dangerous to him then we'd just be giving up our lives needlessly, or worse, getting in his way."

* * *

A framed set of steel double doors swung open, pouring light from the nameless world into a smooth hallway. They creaked like the yawns of giants under their enormous weight, bowing into the palace. Soldiers from many different worlds marched into the hall and took their place beside a wide red carpet, a path for an emperor. As he walked in last, Raditz noted that all the Frieza soldiers avoided that carpet like the plague; it was a walkway deserving only of their lord and his opponent.

Raditz's eyes followed it right up to a solid diamond throne atop a small flight of steps. Sitting comfortably in it was none other than the man responsible for destroying his home planet. The throne seemed tailor-made to suit him; jagged edges of crystal protruded all sides, a cool blue that contrasted against the stark white and purple of the tyrant along with the transparent chalice of red wine propped between his two middle fingers.

A smile spread over the fiend's painted lips when he saw the new look his old saiyan underling had taken on. It wasn't just the new outfit; everything about Raditz's tone, his walk and his expression communicated that he was a new man, one who no longer relished the thought of hurting others. He seemed more humane; distant and observing with a hint of cynicism like a sardonic comedian. His eyes wandered over to the high roof of the hollowed out crystal the size of a mountain he'd been led into. The floors, walls and ceilings were all the same shade of cool, reflective blue.

"Nice place you've got here – a bit too flashy though wouldn't you agree?" said Raditz, his voice echoing across the hall as he made his way up the red carpet.

Frieza took another sip of wine before he finally spoke up. He made no move to rise and only leisurely waved around his tail as the saiyan made his way over. "Cute. I never realised you were never such a comic Raditz. It _is_ Raditz isn't it? I forget; you were always so insignificant in comparison to the others."

"Lord Frieza sir!" A commanding bodyguard suddenly stepped out of line and dropped to one knee in fealty to his master, presenting his ruined, still crackling scouter. "He's more powerful now sir! He destroyed the scouters! My apologies my lord!"

Frieza finally got to his feet, standing over the kneeling man as his captain quaked in fear, as if he might be killed at any moment. But the tyrant didn't raise a fist to him; not yet anyway. "What do you have to apologise for?" he cooed, laying a reassuring hand upon his guard's wrist, gently comforting him like a protective mother. Suddenly his grip tightened; the man screamed and dropped the hissing scouter as his master twisted his hand around in the wrong direction.

"_Of course _he destroyed the scouters," Frieza scorned, his tone deepening several octaves. "That's what you get for using such outdated technology."

"My lord Frieza! My lord –_GAHH!_"

Raditz cringed listening to the tear of the minion's muscles twist and rip like cardboard before Frieza raised his arm and tossed the man nonchalantly, his throw so powerful that the soldier crashed through the crystal wall, left there to die. Well at least that confirmed it: Frieza was as ruthless as ever. If anyone deserved to die twice over Raditz knew it was him.

"So sorry about that, where were we?" said Frieza, slipping back into his faux-polite persona. Everything about him was completely unchanged; everything down to that cold, casual demeanour that chilled the saiyan's bones whenever that overly courteous voice crept over his ears. Raditz had gone through nightmares about Frieza as a child that had even progressed into adulthood, and now finally he'd get a shot at beating him for real, just like Goku before him.

"Is your brother here?" Frieza asked airily. "Honestly I had hoped to meet him, just to settle an old score, you know how it is."

"He's busy frying bigger fish. He's moved up in the world since beating you," chided Raditz.

"Has he now?" Frieza seemed genuinely amused by someone who could match his wit. "Well that's a poor shame isn't it? I don't know how to put this, but I don't really have a problem with you at all Raditz - I mean of course your race has been a thorn in my side for years, but you never rebelled against me - you were always a good little soldier. . . So if you could fetch your brother I'd be most appreciative."

"You might not have a problem with me, but I've got one with you." Raditz continued to step forward, reaching the stairs and stopping once he came within range. His strategy in battle was always to make the other attack first and then counter; then again, Frieza's technique was similar. With two matching styles this conversation became a battle to see who folded and attacked first.

"Oh yes, I can see why you might, with me blowing up your planet and all," Frieza said coolly. "But that's all in the past now. It's Goku I want, not his weakling older brother."

"You'll have to cope with me instead."

"Apparently so, but you're not quite as strong are you?"

"Strong enough for the likes of you, Frieza." There was venom in Raditz's voice now. He'd quit being smug; Frieza was patronising him. It was all he could do not to rush forward and punch the tyrant right in his sneering face. His fist clenched by his side, nails digging into palms so tightly that they began to draw blood.

At the saiyan's comment Frieza began to chuckle menacingly to himself, enjoying Raditz's hilarious quip. A minion somewhere down the line sniggered and looked about to join in on the laughter before the tyrant silenced him with a quick blast from his fingertips.

Raditz turned around, observing the soldier's smoking body and the co-workers by his side that remained perfectly still and silent. "Might wanna tone it down a little Frieza," he said. "At this rate you won't have an army left to lead."

"Oh, more will come I assure you, whether they want to or not. These are just remnants of my old legacy; I will have the entire cosmos at my command when this is all over."

"Come on Frieza you're smarter than that," Raditz said with a laugh. "There's six Shadow Dragons, and you think Alpha would give the whole universe to just one?"

Frieza groaned and read off his fingers in a checklist, as though he'd done it a thousand times before. "I'm the only one who wants it you see. Cell just wants to be the strongest in the universe, Baby wants revenge on the saiyans, Broly wants to kill your brother, Buu wants to eat himself to death and Duodecimus just wants to be a lapdog to anyone stronger than him."

"So there's no catch?"

"The only catch is that that I get to be the Dragon of Greed whilst this war goes on, and I must say, it's not a bad trade at all." From Frieza's chest a compressed Dragon Ball suddenly sprouted, the Four Star that Raditz had been tracking. Its golden colour looked odd when used as a centrepiece for all that white and purple, but the power that leaked from it was no laughing matter.

"Dragon of Greed, huh?" Raditz asked. "Suits you."

"The Dragon Balls each feed off the negative energy of a certain trait to make their users stronger. The one for greed really couldn't go to anyone else could it?"

"I don't suppose it could."

Still completely unblinking, the two stared back at one another with all the intensity of the upcoming battle visible in their eyes. To Raditz's right another minion twitched, and that tiny moment of distraction acted as an opening for the alien emperor. The saiyan's head turned to cast the soldier a glance, but when he looked back Frieza's ugly foot slammed into his chest, propelling him all the way back across the hall and through the closed metal doors he'd arrived in.

He bounced twice across the shallow water outside the temple, once on his back and once on his head before finally flipping back to his feet and skidding to a stop. Water flayed around him as he hummed comfortably into a Super Saiyan 4 transformation – he'd need his maximum power to keep up, that much he knew for sure. Raditz stared back towards the torn set of steel doors with a smile on his face; whatever the outcome of this battle, every punch he landed would make his training worthwhile.

"Bring it on Frieza."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Wassup dawgs!

I actually just noticed on rereading this that there's actually zero dialogue for the first two and a half thousand words (that's like 8-10 pages of a book). I think that's the longest I've ever written with no one actually saying anything O.O

The only thing I want to bring up in this chapter is Frieza really. Here's the thing, I'm of the opinion that Frieza, along with Vegeta, is the best written character in Dragon Ball Z. Not that anyone is badly written mind you, Frieza's just on a whole other level. He's _very _hard to replicate into text, so I was just hoping for a little feedback from a few of you. Did I manage it alright or are there some things I need to highlight more? I'm just really scared of screwing him up :S

Also, this week I finally settled on the One Star: it's not Alpha, The namekian crab, the Para Para bros or General Blue, it's Appul!

Since it's been five chapters since the first one, I figured I might as well just finish off by updating the status list. It's actually changed quite a bit, there's no more mention of Pan for one thing XD

Capsules

Capsule One: Goku. On his way to the one star

Capsule Two: Gohan and Krillin. On their way to the two star

Capsule Three: Trunks, Goten and Uub. Returning to Earth

Capsule Four: Tien. Defeated, planet of the six star

Capsule Five: Piccolo. Returning to Earth

Capsule Six: Raditz. Currently fighting the Four Star :D

Capsule Seven: King Vegeta and Bardock. On their way to the six star to back up Tien

Dragon Balls

One Star: _APPUL! _(duh)_  
_

Two Star: ?

Three Star: Broly (deceased – killed by Vegeta)

Four Star: Frieza (In combat with Raditz)

Five Star: Majin Buu (deceased – killed by Uub and Gotenks)

Six Star: Duodecimus (Alive)

Seven Star: Baby (deceased – killed by Piccolo)


	16. Chapter 16 A Battle of Life and Death

Chapter 16: A Battle of Life and Death

As a Super Saiyan 4, Raditz appeared equally as formidable as his brother. Save for his chest and his hands the entirety of his upper body was suddenly given a new coat of blood-red fur, leading down to tight-fitting black pants like the honourable prince. The same red of his fur dashed twin stripes down his trousers and painted his irises, whilst his hair blazed out to an incredible mane. His aura hummed steadily, destroying the ground beneath him and building a crater to surround him.

When the transformation finally settled though, Frieza was nowhere in sight. Raditz glanced around before looking straight into a kick from the Dragon Ball-enhanced tyrant. Flipped off his feet the saiyan toppled into the air, but he wasn't spinning for long when Frieza warped to the skies and hammered him back down. A sudden stab of pain washed over his back; he crashed straight through one of the pointed, mountainous crystals and hurtled like a comet to the ground in a shower of broken shards.

A shallow pool of water would've cushioned his landing, yet at the speeds he travelled the gleaming oasis did about as much good as a broken spring as Raditz met the ground in a single giant splash. Salted water soaked into the light wound his back had sustained, and with a sound of pain clutched it, getting back to his feet.

"Not the best start. . ." he said to himself, glancing around the demolished crystal hope of a sign. To his dismay, Frieza had disappeared. "Where could he b-"

Another bout of pain streaked across Raditz's arm as the scorch of an energy flare singed fur and burned his bare skin. He fled from the site of destruction and into the skies; the air was normally his domain, but it was also Frieza's. Putting his senses on full alert, Raditz began to see from all angles until a flash of light blitzed away from the ground.

_There! _Raditz turned on the spot and spun away from a volley of spheres before firing one of his own back towards the crystal Frieza hid behind. A fading afterimage however, told him the tyrant had already fled. He sensed a signal behind him and charged another blast into his palm, yet by the time he'd thrown this one as well Frieza had vanished. He repeated this process again and again; a dozen times he aimed a shot right before his foe dashed into another spot of open air, and each time he warped Frieza got closer and closer.

"Too slow." The polite drawl of the saiyans' oppressor whispered in Raditz's ear like an enticing serpent. When he turned around with his fist ablaze, Frieza's hand suddenly clamped down across his face. He saw the opal white and silky-smooth skin of his greatest foe before his vision was hindered by a blinding shine of purple light.

The blast detonated right as the saiyan was about to retaliate. With a new burn soot-coating his face Raditz fell from the sky and hit the watery ground in a column of smoke. Point blank energy attacks were never pleasant, but this one was far nastier than the usual, at least compared to those he'd been on the receiving end of whilst sparring with Novus. In a rapidly flooding bowl Raditz tried in vain to get to his feet; he staggered twice before finally regaining his composure, and even then his eyes were flickering.

Above him, Frieza descended to a spot on the ground ten paces ahead, drifting down like an ominous deity. "Is this is really everything that the brother of the mightiest warrior alive has to offer? For all your talk Raditz you really have me disappointed. Super Saiyan 4 is a triumph in itself – you've even acquired quite a solid mastery of it, but it hardly compares to the power I wield right now. You'll have to do better if you want to trade fists with me. . . And I'm only getting warmed up."

Well at least that confirmed it; Frieza was holding back as Raditz had expected. With the Super Kaio-Ken the saiyan might be able to keep up with him at this level, but if Frieza decided to go all out he'd be done for. All these things occurred to Raditz, though for some reason he didn't feel concerned for his own safety. It was as if merely getting to fight the man who destroyed his home world was reason enough to die happily.

"You know Frieza," he managed between breaths, "I really should be thanking you. If it weren't for you I don't think I would ever have joined up with my brother."

"Oh?" the conqueror tilted his head in mock interest. "Do continue."

"When you fought with Goku on Namek, every evil thing in hell was watching. Half of them were put there by my brother and his friends themselves, but all of them cheered for you to send him back into the afterlife; all except for me," explained Raditz. "Watching that battle I had no idea who I wanted to win: the man who brought about my death or the freak responsible for demolishing my home planet. At first I thought I'd be glad if you just destroyed each other in the fight, but I'll be the first to admit that I couldn't help feeling a bit relieved when Goku stepped out of that space pod alive and well."

"And then after that you slowly conformed and allowed yourself to be taken by a whimsical phase of heroism, blah blah blah," Frieza laughed.

Raditz growled and dropped into stance as his enemy continued.

"Such a thrilling tale," he said, bringing up his arms and shaking his head. "But you really think I haven't heard this story before? Your brother wasn't the first naïve warrior with a bit of skill who thought he could stop m-"

_He dropped his guard!_ Raditz completely zoned out of Frieza's reply and became fixed on the opening his foe had created. With his arms up and his eyes closed Frieza delivered his mocking anecdotes with unmatched confidence, leaving himself wide open for an attack.

"They all fell before my-"

"_Double Sunday!_" cried Raditz. Placing his hands together caused a vibrant beam to rocket from his palms and surge as a yellow bolt of lightning towards Frieza. The alien opened his eyes just in time to dodge, but Raditz wasn't finished just yet. A flaming shroud engulfed his aura as he cupped his hands into the charge of a beam, transferring all the power from his signature move into the palms of his hands rather than spreading it around his entire form.

"_Kaio-Cannon!_"

This beam was far faster and more potent than the last. Surrounded by a translucent red flame the attack closed in on Frieza's dash point. He managed to put up two hands for defence before the blast washed over him. The Kaio-Cannon was a move Raditz rarely used in battle; in fact in his two fights against the Vices he'd only used it once, when he clashed with Novus and defeated her with it three years ago. The toll it took on his body was even more extreme than that of the Super Kaio-Ken, but in three years Raditz had begun to master its unpredictable lethality. On any given day he could shoot off four regular blasts before he could do no more.

As he expected though, even the Kaio-Cannon was no match for Frieza. Once the smoke cleared he was still in the same position with his hands raised, even if they were charred black by the force it took to block.

"Hmm, more than I bargained for," Frieza admitted.

"Well then you'll love this! _Super Kaio-Ken Times Ten!_"

"Super what?"

The air behind Raditz took off in hurricane winds as the Super Saiyan four eased into a blazing aura that set his muscles on fire. Like a crimson meteor he careered into Frieza with a leading punch to the gut before unloading blow after blow whilst he still had the chance. Ten shots in quick succession swelled and cut the tyrant's condescending expression before he bounded to the skies.

Raditz's tenacity in training had known no bounds these last three years; not only had he mastered the Kaio-Cannon, but the Super Kaio-Ken Times Ten that had killed him once before now served as a comfortable level to which he could power up. After the burst had worn off he activated it again instantly and pursued Frieza to the skies, though this time both were ready. Fists and kicks ricocheted in every direction as the two slowly ascended higher and higher, each one marked by a booming thunderclap and a flash of light.

Unlike their previous clash, each warrior sustained whatever damage and energy they dished out. Being evenly matched at such a level made Raditz's heart race and his endorphins soar as he bobbed and weaved under a flurry of punches. The Super Kaio-Ken wore off, and by the time Frieza realised his sudden weakness the saiyan pulled off a third in quick succession, using the initial burst to swing around and flip over into a wheeling heel-kick that met his enemy's skull with a crack.

As Frieza plummeted to the ground Raditz warped to the spot that should've been his landing point and held his fist in the air. He looked above to ready his punch; timing was everything in this fight, however just as the conqueror's falling form reached within an inch of his hand the creature vanished. A speeding power signal to his right confirmed that Frieza closed in, and before he could put up his guard a hook slammed into his ribs.

Blood mixed with spit to stain the pool by Raditz's feet; something had definitely broken from that shot and with no room to recover in the middle of an exchange Raditz darted back to safety. With a snapped rib or two the Kaio-Ken would damage his body even more than before, but now wasn't the time to think about that; he had to push the pain aside and locate his enemy.

Twin disks of pink light suddenly streamed in from around the nearest corner and closed in on the saiyan. He recognised these immediately as the techniques that had ended Goku's first fight with Frieza, and with nothing else to go on he took to the air and tried the exact same thing. Finding Frieza was hardly difficult when he controlled such a powerful technique with his fingers, but the trick was to know how to evade the disks to turn them on their creators.

Frieza stood not too far away; he made no effort to conceal his location as he stood perfectly balanced atop a sharpened point of one of the planet's many blue crystals. Streaming towards him, Raditz triggered the Kaio-Ken and began a swift corkscrewing manoeuvre that made him dizzy in seconds. Sure enough, chasing the saiyan the two identical techniques mirrored one another as they began to tailspin, spiralling after him. When Raditz suddenly broke to a stop some ten metres away from his foe he cringed as the sharpened disks flew right by either side of him, cutting dangerously close to his new fur and failing to slow at a similar pace.

With his two attacks buzzing towards him like a pair of vengeful lawnmowers Frieza merely smiled; he snapped both fingers and the disks shattered into dust before disappearing completely before they could reach him, effectively making Raditz's skilful display of acrobatics a complete waste of time.

"You really think I'd fall for that again? You think I'd fail to correct such an obvious mistake?" demanded Frieza.

The saiyan shrugged. "It worked last time didn't it? I thought it might be worth a try."

With an irritated snarl Frieza extended two fingers and suddenly blasted a triad of lasers towards Raditz, who disappeared in a crimson burst and slowed to a hover after ascending further into the sky. He placed his palms in front of him, glowing yellow and reflective on the surface of the lower crystals.

"_Scatter Shot!"_ he cried.

The violet and white alien crossed his arms across his face to protect himself once again before finding to his surprise that it was completely unnecessary. Blasts exploded around him rather than onto him; crystals and patches of gleaming water went up into blooming clouds of smoke. At first he seemed to dismiss it as the poor aim of a pathetic monkey, but it didn't take long for Frieza to realise that his miss was completely intentional.

Shadows danced against the greyish columns of floating dust as Raditz dashed between each one under the cover of his last attack. From here he could strike from any angle and Frieza wouldn't be able to block him, and so he stuck to the shadows of his technique's fallout, waiting for the opportune moment to attack.

"How many times do I need to tell you before it sinks in?" Frieza called around the clearing. "You can't fool me twice with the same move – unlike the idiots I call colleagues, I learn from my mistakes. For example. . ."

Into his smog-covered shelter Frieza suddenly warped right in front of Raditz and grabbed him by the throat. The cloud of ash suddenly fled the scene as a power-flex from Frieza cleared the air around them. He lifted the saiyan from the ground by his neck and began to squeeze, digging those coloured fingernails into Raditz's gullet and watching with sickening sadism as his blood flowed across his hand.

"I can now sense energy levels," Frieza confirmed, "it's quite easy once you get the hang of it. I'd love to stay and drag this out but I'm afraid underestimating me is one mistake I won't let go unpunished. If you ever make it back to life and feel like challenging me again, don't presume that my abilities have just stood still for forty years. At least credit me with learning the basic skill of sensing energy," he hissed.

Again Frieza's hand tightened around Raditz's neck until he noticed something interesting; it was something he'd usually regard as the delusions of a dying man, but he'd seen this saiyan's confident grin and slow laugh before on both Goku and the Saiyan Prince Vegeta. This wasn't just misplaced arrogance – Raditz had something up his sleeve.

Only then did Frieza become aware of Raditz's aura flared out to its maximum, still maintaining that technique the entire time. He'd been so dead set on tormenting Raditz by fixing eye contact that he also neglected to noticed the brewing red sphere cupped between the saiyan's hands.

"Actually Frieza," said Raditz, giving one last chuckle. "I was counting on it. . ." He savoured the tyrant's wide-eyed look of shock before firing away. "_Kaio-Cannon!_"

At point-blank range the shrouded beam rocketed towards Frieza's chest, targeting the Dragon Ball with its subsequent explosion sending both fighters skidding across the endless stretch of water this planet contained. As much as his body writhed in agony Raditz couldn't help but go over how incredible that felt as he finally banged to a stop after hitting the side of a crystal.

With his energy still as full as it was Raditz knew that wouldn't be enough to put Frieza down for good, but it would certainly do a number on him at least. He'd bought himself a little time, and more importantly one of his strategies had finally worked; he was pushing Frieza into a corner inch by inch, but eventually he'd snap and unleash the stored power of the Dragon Ball inside his chest. When that happened Raditz knew he was as good as dead.

Shaking the water out of his hair like a soaked dog the saiyan finally got back to his feet. The smoke from his explosion towered for miles into the air and submerged the entire land before him, and even with all that power it still wouldn't be enough.

"Come on out Frieza! I know that's not enough to put someone like you down!" he called into the mist.

After a few long seconds Frieza drifted out towards him, still doing his best to remain calm and collected as he hovered a few inches off the ground. His chest was burned – covered in a shallow blast wound that dripped with blood every few seconds. Raditz had hoped it would do more.

"I see you've mastered that vile technique your brother used, though for some reason you're the only one who can still keep it active whilst in a transformed state," Frieza observed.

"My brother could do it as well, but he self-taught himself the Super Kaio-Ken – it became inefficient after he surpassed a certain level of power; I learned it from the technique's original creator once it was finally perfected," explained the saiyan.

"Most impressive." Frieza smiled and folded his arms as he continued to glide out of the fog. "I must say you've exceeded by expectations; you should be pleased with yourself. You saiyans have a certain tenacity about you that other races can't ever seem to match, I see that now."

"I'm honoured," snapped Raditz. He blasted a small jet from his palm that was easily batted away by his foe's muscular tail.

"But I have a theory," Frieza continued, shrugging off Raditz's attack. "I think you're kidding yourselves. Your brother might be a. . . Special case. . . But the rest of you are just fighting against your instincts – you sit there all nobly and dare to preach peace when you're natural soldiers bred for war."

Raditz shook his head. "We're not like that. There's more to saiyans than fighting."

"Oh come now Raditz, the only person you're convincing is yourself. You really should be thanking me; after all when I arrived you were just savages. You had already committed one mass genocide, so who's to say you wouldn't do the same thing again? If your brother didn't exist you would've become the same evil you fight against. You were a pack of rabid dogs from the street and I put you in the pits where you belonged – a place in my army where your talents would be put to better use."

Raditz's brief moment of blinded anger was enough for Frieza to exploit. A flash of invisible speed later and Frieza was upon him, delivering three solid punches to Raditz's jaw. The saiyan backed off as his foe rushed in for the kill, and with another explosion of red energy the wispy aura of the Kaio-Ken surrounded him. He caught Frieza's blow before ducking right under the whip his tail. The other fist came at him; again it was caught within Raditz's free hand, and with nothing else to do a power struggle commenced.

As the two pushed against each other their energies collided; Raditz's shadowy Kaio-Ken clashed with the violet shroud of the conqueror as particles of water rose up around them at different speeds. The outer barrier splayed into incredible tsunamis blasting off in every direction, whereas the liquid by their feet hovered up in tiny particles as if in slow motion.

The sound of mirrors breaking joined the roar of the struggle, as the growing crater of their fight smashed countless crystals around them into microscopic lenses of blue. The force with which the two pushed against each other cracked the ground at their feet. The pair used up more and more strength by the second, snarling through contorted, painful expressions whilst they tried using everything they could to get the better of each other.

"_Eleven!_" cried Raditz.

The tiny increase in power gained from a single multiplication of the Super Kaio-Ken was enough to bring the struggle to an end. With his hands back in control the saiyan stepped forward and butted Frieza as hard as he could, his forehead connecting perfectly with the alien's shiny scalp. A bright red mark spread across the point of impact as Frieza's eyes rolled into the back of his sockets.

On all fours Frieza hit the ground by the saiyan's feet, still dazed and only half conscious from the incredible force of the last attack. Another kick slammed into his ribs to send him hurling through countless crystals, ricocheting from the ground to the gleaming gems like a football to eventually stop his fall. Blood now stained Frieza's face; it dripped from his nose, the corners of his mouth and a pair of cut upon his head.

Raditz landed shortly after and watched with a smile as Frieza struggled back onto two feet. He staggered at first before finally regaining his composure.

"You. . ." he uttered, his voice wavering under barely controlled wrath. He wretched another wad of blood before continuing, "You will rue the day you cause me pain. . . Do you hear me monkey?"

Unflinching, Raditz responded. "Oh I hear you. But if you want to do that then I suggest you step up your game. I know you're holding back; you won't beat someone like me unless you go all out in this fight. You know that as well as I do, so hurry up and boost your power. I'm a big boy now, I'm sure I can handle it."

A malicious grin spread to the corners of Frieza's bleeding mouth as a low, drawn-out laugh escaped him. Raditz knew it could mean only one thing: that the power of the Four Star ball was something more than he could ever imagine. He held his ground and tightened his guard, preparing himself for an intense ride as Frieza drew himself up to full height again, still panting from the beating he'd taken.

"Well I must congratulate you," he began. "You're stronger than I imagined. I originally intended to save this form for your wretched brother, but it seems you leave me no choice but to use it here. You've proven yourself a worthy adversary Raditz, but your time ends here; if it's any consolation you may go to the afterlife in the knowledge that you were a challenge for the mighty _Frieza!_"

Just when Raditz figured Frieza's rage had been pushed to his limits the tyrant gave out an enormous screech as the ground beneath him crumbled into ash. The Four Star Dragon Ball began to glow, spewing golden light across the crystallised canyon before slowly warping into a harsh shade of black. Looking directly into Frieza's chest hurt the saiyan's eyes; the black light had grown so powerful that it completely shadowed him, preventing a close look at the gruesome transformation the conqueror underwent.

Raditz took flight as the razor-sharp flecks of rock and gemstone surged his way, slashing tiny cuts into the arm he used to block it. Below, chaos ensued. The energy soared way past Raditz's already high expectations, past the realm of the highest Super Saiyan 4 and into the territory of godlike power. Not a single villain he'd sensed in hell had felt truly this evil; this raw, unfathomable malevolence was a kind that threatened to taint one's heart if they let it rule them for just a moment – he'd felt the same kind only once before, when he'd confronted Chronus three years ago.

He finally understood. _This _was the power of a negatively charged Dragon Ball – nothing short of pure evil came from and sustained those foul, twisted artefacts of once-good intentions. They fed from Frieza's greed and made him all the more powerful for it, and the only thing that could combat such a force was a polar opposite.

Dust billowed from the site of transformation and slowly began to clear. Behind the veil of ash Raditz could see the silhouetted form of a monster creeping into existence. Eventually the smoke cleared entirely and billowed away with the low winds of this nameless world, revealing the creature himself in the flesh.

Frieza now stood at heights level with the average saiyan. With his physique reshaped and his power negatively tainted he seemed like an entirely different being. The shining, purple guards colouring his chest, shoulders and forearms had hardened and extended, forming a kind of carapace that acted as armour for him. Bracers had formed around both his wrists and shins, each decorated with a pair of spines that hurt just to look at.

His tail on the other hand had extended noticeably, and where it once ended in a simple point, a trident of jagged spikes now forked from the tip. The most sudden change of all though was in his face. He'd become protected by a helmet of sorts, one that guarded his mouth and allowed narrow, violet eyes to be seen through tiny slits before it rose up into an extended cranium.

Five spines crowned Frieza's organic helmet with a gleaming jewel of purple penetrating the centre. Raditz had seen this kind of form once before, during his stay in hell when all the evil creatures had escaped and flooded back out into Earth. Frieza's brother had been at the head of the charge using a similar transformation, and it seemed that thanks to the Dragon Ball Frieza had acquired it himself. This one was far more powerful though; Raditz could sense in a heartbeat that the youngest sibling of the Cold family now put his older brother to shame – a snap of Frieza's fingers could crush Cooler into space dust.

Slowly, like the rising pitch of an executioner, Frieza extended two fingers and pointed them menacingly at the saiyan.

"_Super Kaio-Ken Times Ten!_" Raditz's aura blazed up just in time as he darted out of the way. Twin explosions suddenly chased his feet, obliterating the ground where he'd stood less than a moment ago before Frieza himself intercepted him. A malicious smile in a blink's duration was the last thing he saw before a fist met his face with a world-shattering force. His jaw dislodged immediately, stunting his blurry-eyed scream of pain as a whip of Frieza's tail raced up his neck.

Only the tips of the tyrant's new forked tail connected, but the spines alone contained more power than any of his strongest punches. Like harsh flogs of thickened razor wire they lashed along the length of his neck, searing uncomfortably deep into his skin before flicking up to his chin. The impact sent him soaring into the sky in a shower of blood; for a moment he feared his throat had been slashed as he spun to the air, yet that became the least of his problems as Frieza met him once more.

Punches poured down on him like a hailstorm, knocking clear indentures into his bones and rearranging his skeletal structure like a jigsaw. Raditz the punching bag bled from every joint before long; every now and again he'd catch a glimpse of those hateful, beady eyes and weakly throw up a sloppy attack, but that did about as much use to Frieza as the farmer he'd first encountered on Earth did to him.

Before long his pain became so intense that it began to blur together. He no longer felt the individual impacts of Frieza's million-punch tirade beating him strike by strike, only a single dense pressure weighing down on his mind and lulling him into unconsciousness. As much as being painless sounded like a plus in battle, Raditz knew all too well that this was a bad sign. He was losing his life's energy; Frieza hadn't even been transformed for a minute yet and he was about to die.

Worse still, Frieza was enjoying every second of it. His controlled laughter seemed to echo from every angle as Raditz suddenly found himself hurtling from one point to the next like a volleyball; punched in one direction and then kicked in another one as Frieza diverted his flightpath over and over again.

"Come now Raditz! Where was all that spirit you had earlier?"

Raditz didn't hear him. His ears rang with the high pitched blaring of his nervous system and his senses had been dulled to sloth-like reflexes from the beating he'd already taken. He barely even felt the sudden stop as he was forced to a halt by Frieza's tail coiling like a viper around his throat. What he _did _feel was the subsequent blast – an attack stronger than anything he'd ever felt. He'd been killed both from the receiving end of Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon and Chronus's Darkness Buster, but this was something else; this time he almost wished he'd been destroyed straight away.

The blaze of a thousand volcanoes raged across his chest, tearing through skin and muscle and bone as though it were no sturdier than cardboard. A purple, sizzling sphere of destructive ki had been thrust into him, forcing him back down into free-fall with the weight of a planet bearing down on his chest. When he hit the ground the crater he made defaced and deformed the planet itself. Shards of crystal shattered to the ground for its entire lower hemisphere as silvery particles of dust fled to the air.

By some horrific, unmerciful injustice, Raditz retained consciousness. Even barely alive he still felt the river of blood flowing from the gaping opening in his chest and spilling itself to stain the once-shimmering blue waters of this magnificent world. The blast hadn't passed all the way through him, but for all the damage it caused, it might as well have. What bones from his ribs that weren't destroyed poked out at odd angles, bloody and grotesque against the blackened flesh across his chest.

To a human eye it appeared as though a blind man had attempted surgery on the saiyan hero; they'd opened him up, then tipped scalding acid into his wound and left him to die without bothering to stitch him back up. As much as he wanted to wail to the heavens in agony Raditz's vocal chords had been fried as well. He choked on his scream and coughed up a mass of blood onto his face, unable to move; even finishing himself off to spare him the unbearable pain was impossible now.

Instead he was forced to listen as Frieza landed by the incline of his impressive crater, still breathing heavily after venting every ounce of his rage and hatred for the saiyan race onto Raditz's mortal body. It had been over in seconds, but the ordeal had felt like a lifetime, one that wasn't in any hurry to end even when Raditz tinkered so close to death. Any second now and his life would give out, but when seconds felt like days, 'torture' didn't even begin to describe the saiyan's pain.

"You know Raditz, for a moment there I thought you might have been something – an exception to what seems to now be the general rule for your species," Frieza soliloquized. "Now I see that I was wrong. You're just as stubborn, arrogant and foolhardy as your oaf of a brother, your egotistical prince and his meddlesome son. You're all just savages by nature trying to fool yourselves into thinking you could be noble."

These were the first audible words Raditz picked up on since the Dragon of Greed had shown his true hand. Perhaps it was selective hearing at the mention of his brother, but once Goku's name was dropped his attention had been roused. The faces of his brother and prince snapped through his mind – portraits that spoke to him in voices too far away for him to make out anything.

What would they do? He found himself asking that question in spite of his imminent death. Fighting Frieza was impossible; it was just as Goku said - taking on a Shadow Dragon without a Super Saiyan 5 or equivalent wasn't even worth considering, and that transformation had always seemed further away from him than the entire length of the road to the Gates of Life. Yet even if they were weak – even if they were broken and beaten down, Goku and Vegeta would always find some way to have the last laugh.

"Dealing the final blow seems almost humane in your pathetic state." Frieza suddenly turned his back and started back up the rising slope of the planet's fresh crater. "So I think I'll just leave you there to die. You're not going anywhere and I doubt you can even move – perhaps you'll think twice before challenging me again if I allow you to linger in suffering. So long Raditz; I hope someone more worthy follows you here. If no one arrives within a day or so I'll personally seek out your brother to finish him myself."

_ You're not laying a finger on my brother!_ Raditz wanted to say that more than anything, though his current state prevented it. Again the images of his friends flashed across his mind – compared to them he was nothing, just the weak link of the saiyan race who'd been bested the moment his opponent began to take him seriously. How could he ever hope to stand side by side with his brother and his prince if he was defeated so easily?

"_T-. . ._"

Frieza continued up the slope, taking all the time he needed as he strolled nonchalantly back up the crater. No doubt his minions were dead and his fortress destroyed in the explosion, but these were commodities he could afford to replace. He didn't seem to hear Raditz's stuttering; if he did, he simply dismissed it as another cough of blood from the dying warrior and continued his walk.

"_T-Times. . ._"

This Frieza heard. The tyrant stopped dead in his tracks, turning slowly with an expression with intrigue as Raditz muttered what he believed to be his last words. The implications of his them referred to the technique he used; but he'd beaten every last scrap of energy out of him, hadn't he?

"_T-Tw. . . Twenty_."

Raditz's lifeless, unmoving body disappeared in a flash. Frieza's eyes scanned the barren, rocky bowl he'd made before the saiyan reappeared, poised two feet away from him with a fist raised high and a roar like unchained thunder. The aura of the Super Kaio-Ken had never been more potent, swimming around him and crashing into one great crescendo as the saiyan's blazing haymaker connected with his old lord's temple.

Frieza hit the deck. Such was the force of Raditz's right hand that he was driven straight to his knees, bleeding and cursing as he stopped himself from falling prone. When he tried to get back up he wobbled three steps to his left, but since Raditz was in no position to follow up on his attack the opening wasn't exploited. The saiyan stayed on his feet using every ounce of willpower he could muster. He breathed heavily and spat out another cluster of blood and saliva, grinning like an idiot as he met Frieza's gaze.

"Worth it," he said.

At this Frieza snarled; a feral noise that elevated into a furious howl. He seized Raditz by his slashed neck with one hand and charged that same deadly blast into his other, and without pause for thought he let out a shriek as he plunged his hand forward.

With another explosion beyond his calibre Raditz was sent hurtling backwards into the air - into oblivion - into light. He shut his eyes and prepared for death before the harsh glare upon his closed eyelids alerted him to the abnormal shine. When he opened them he wasn't face down in a ditch with a hole in his chest, and nor was he a bustling sprite queuing up at the checkout of the afterlife.

He was in somewhere else entirely – a bleached white void of total nothingness that only he could access. He smiled and looked down, noticing right away that his wounds were gone and his transformation had ceased. He knew where he was, and a part of him realised that knowing wouldn't make this process any easier. Still, this chance was all he had; he'd meet it with everything or die with nothing.

"I'm ready," he said.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey guys, sorry this has been like a week late but I've just had so much RL stuff to deal with, and honestly I haven't been massively motivated to write for this last week or two – I didn't think this chapter was really up to scratch because of it but I tried anyway. Think I managed to pick it up towards the end (I hope) :/

I think it's because I haven't been reading much lately; I haven't had the time on my hands to absorb any decent literature. If that really is the case then I'm not worried at all though, because the last book of the Inheritance Cycle comes out in a few days and I'm gonna blast through that in like 48 hours regardless of what other work I have to do.

So yeah, Raditz kinda got his ass handed to him (in a surprisingly gory way), and no one gets a cookie for guessing where it is he's gone to. Unless you've just been staring into space for the last fifty chapters of Dragon Ball AF then it should be obvious where he is.

One other thing I wanna pick up on his Frieza and his little speech. You know how he kept saying "you're all kidding yourselves"? Well I liked writing that bit because he's _actually right_. Think about it: most if not all saiyans by nature are just wild, bloodthirsty dicks. If the random act of Goku being _dropped on his head as a child_ never happened then the Earth would've been conquered a million times over. Vegeta would've never converted to good and Goku probably would've destroyed the planet himself.

Oh yeah, this week the One Star isn't Alpha, The namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue or even Appul – It's Ginyu the frog!

One last thing (RANT AHEAD), and I'm gonna apologise in advance because there is absolutely no way for me to tackle this without sounding like a massive douchebag. . . –Sigh-. . . It's about anonymous reviews, I'm sorry but I'm seriously considering disabling them.

Basically with the growing popularity of both DBAF fics I've started to get a crap load of anonymous reviews. Many of these do one of two things: the first is to ask a massive amount of questions, which I can't answer because you can't send a message to someone without an account (I hate to sound like a dick, but if you want to ask a question why not just take two minutes out of your schedule to get one?).

The second thing they often do is consist of really stupid two or three word comments. Yes - it's not _all_ anonymous reviewers, some of you guys are great, but it's getting to the point where it's more than fifty percent. I'm sure I'm not the only person on this site who gets really excited when they get the e-mail telling them they've got a review and then ends up disappointed when they see it's just some guy saying "haha lol i luv Gohan"

Seriously that's what some of these reviews are like; I've had to delete loads just because they annoyed me at the time. I'm not asking for a freaking scholarly report here but is it too much trouble to write a _sentence? _I'd rather read someone tear AF a new arsehole in half-decent grammar than just wake up to see a review saying "it was gud" or "piccolo rox"

So yeah, that's my current stance on anonymous reviews. It might change in future, but in the meantime I wouldn't be surprised if I turned them off within the week – I'll see how it goes. Sayonara then!


	17. Chapter 17 Raditz's Tenacity

Chapter 17: Raditz's Tenacity

Doubt.

Not five minutes had passed in the void before Raditz came to the conclusion that this one feeling – this single idea – would be the thing his unconscious drew upon to assess him for the right to ascend. It had grown at the back of his mind like the bad smell of a decaying corpse for decades now. Even in spite of his efforts to stop Chronus three years ago, had he truly been forgiven of all his sins? Did the mere act of sacrificing his own life grant him permanent absolution?

He walked slowly through the empty void of white light, his every footstep create a pool of cold light to ripple beneath him like a stone dropped into moonlit water. Above him Raditz glimpsed a snatch of golden; a halo had slowly begun to form above his head. Since neither Goku nor Vegeta had mentioned it to him, this was news to Raditz. He figured that if he didn't find his answer and get out of this place before the halo continued its rotation then he'd die.

After noticing the halo he caught sight of another odd phenomenon. At his feet a growing shadow began to spread. It was strange to see amidst all the opal white that governed the floor, so he squatted to his feet and inspected it for a few moments. At the last possible moment the saiyan realised what it was, as the distinct rushing of an oversized fist pressed against his consciousness.

Raditz took flight as fast as his body would allow just in time to avoid a building-sized fist to which the shadow belonged flatten the ground where he'd once stood. As fast as he could fly though, he should've been quicker; much quicker. In spite of his will to transform into even the most basic Super Saiyan form, an invisible wall – a mental barrier of sorts – had been fortified in his mind, making the reserves of strength he normally possessed completely out reach.

He understood why immediately: this wasn't a battle of physical power; it was a test of his resolve; of his commitment to his cause and his determination to advance.

As quickly as he dared turn, Raditz shifted his weight and rolled away from another lumbering fist before darting to the ground and surveying the situation. Beside him the terrible noise of the giant fist hitting the white ground echoed into the farthest reaches of his mind's endless plane. Like icing on a cake the surface cracked around the punch, splaying the air with a reservoir of white shards as Raditz coolly regarded his opponent.

At well over two hundred metres in height the creature's expression was hidden from him, though with the heated growls that he could hear from above, his imagination found it to be one of the fiercest rage. Jet black fur coated its body almost entirely, a hair broken only for the meaty appendages of its pink palms and feet.

If its size wasn't intimidating enough, the power it gave off was nothing short of horrifying. From Raditz's senses the beast could easily be mistaken for a hundred thousand Super Saiyan warriors stacking on top of one another and melding into a single being to create this monstrosity. Acidic saliva dripped from its maw a skyscraper above him, and that hot and heavy breathing only grew more intense by the second.

Against such a force Raditz wouldn't even consider fighting at full capacity, much less when he couldn't even maintain access to the regular Super Saiyan. Goku and Vegeta had warned him already that it would be the hardest trial of his existence, but this wasn't hard – this was impossible. A challenge wasn't a challenge unless it could be _conceivably _overcome.

_No_. Raditz shook his head suddenly and shoved those thoughts aside. _That can't be the case – there must be some trick to this. I just have to keep my head and see how this plays out. _

Just as the saiyan soared away from an incoming kick, the full weight of a space station slammed into his front. The ape proved to have deceptively rapid speed as well as world-crushing power, and for his ignorance of this Raditz paid by cruising across half a mile of flaky white ground as the force of being struck propelled him far away from his opponent. He landed in a mess; what good was being healed if he was just to be beaten up already? He felt at least three ribs fracture from the impact along with the twisted wrist that he landed on.

When he finally pulled himself out of the smoky landing point though, Raditz couldn't help but smile as the trial began to move on as he predicted. It was a short lived smile; it vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared, but at least it was something. Beside him an apparition played out, a familiar scene from his past and something that he regarded as one of his most disgusting acts of his existence.

Colourful flashes recounted the scenes of his short-lived initial visit to Earth. The segment where he first confronted Piccolo – who he merely knew back then as the 'high power level' - gave him a sense of nostalgia. The following scene did not. He seized Gohan, a toddler at the age of four, and held him captive to use as a bargaining chip for his brother, of course this was only after he'd beat down poor Krillin. At one point he'd even booted the tiny Gohan, sending him spinning thirty feet across the fields of Earth.

As the slideshow came to an end Raditz couldn't help but notice he'd shed a single tear, but in spite of the traumatic recounting he appeared relatively unfazed by the pictures he'd been shown. Whether this was through pride of those actions or simple indifference any onlooker wouldn't be able to tell. It was neither – he kept his focus level; he had to concentrate on the situation at hand. These flashes were obviously designed to demoralise him and wear him down, but if anything a saiyan's stubbornness was a virtue unrivalled by others.

He turned his view back ninety degrees as the diamond-hard fist of the giant ape careered into his side, catapulting him into the air spinning like a boomerang with his face full of blood. It was odd; even when watching his most intimate memories played out again Raditz still made sure that his radar was on full alert. If the creature had moved he would've heard the incredible footfalls; even deaf and blindfolded he would've noticed the energy steadily creeping towards him, provided he didn't catch the whiff of its foul, unwashed stench first.

Instead he'd felt nothing. He figured that the movement of a dirty great ape would be impossible to miss, but he reminded himself as he flailed higher and higher into the air that this was no ordinary ape. This was happening in his mind. The ape's speed could've been so vast that it traversed the gap between them at the speed of light, or he could've simply zoned in and out of existence and materialised by his side.

Whatever the case, as he soared to higher altitudes Raditz couldn't help but entertain the feeling that the latest punch he received wasn't quite as powerful the first. This gave him hope, hope enough to regain his senses prematurely and flourish his body back into stance. He stopped immediately and hovered just out of range of the ape's colossal swing.

A volcanic eruption of stringy spittle then burst forth from the foaming maw of the beast below, a primal scream behind which frustration and rage brewed as the deafening noise boomed around the white clearing. The ape stamped its feet and beat both paws to its chest one after the other, drumming itself with a force powerful enough to tenderise dinosaur meat. Then at last another roar bellowed into existence, this one accompanied by the familiar hum and sudden energy gathering that Raditz had grown accustomed to over the years.

This wasn't just any blast though: The blood-red shroud creeping between gaps of the serrated jaws, the avalanche of power emanating from the highway-wide ravine of the ape's mouth; it was the technique Raditz used frequently, and one that he had no desire to be on the receiving end of. He stared down into oblivion – into the frothing mass of energy that threatened to burn him to cinders.

_Kaio-Cannon_

No words were spoken. Nothing had to be said – Raditz was so familiar with the attack that for a moment he heard himself shouting out its name as it hurtled towards him. 'Cannon' was a fitting title, but now that he felt it head-on Raditz figured that King Kai's name for the technique didn't quite do it all the justice it deserved. Even with his shielding aura of energy flared out to its maximum Raditz still felt every muscle in his body go up in flames as the beam nearly eviscerated him in one fell swoop.

Before he knew it Raditz hit the floor with a bang. Charred, hungry and exhausted he lay flat on his back upon the white floor of his mind's arena, skin still sizzling from his encounter with the beam. Keeping a level head allowed him to analyse the situation immediately though. He should have died; without the defensive qualities of even the basic Super Saiyan a blast on the level of the Kaio-Cannon should've wiped him out of existence if he came within fifty feet of it.

Then again, he had to remind himself, this was his conscience at work here – this whole place was controlled by his unconscious mind. Death would've been too easy; instead the test subjected him to every ounce of pain that the limits of a physical body restricted. With a groan of effort the saiyan pushed himself back to his feet and stared back up at his lumbering opponent, sparing only a short glance to the halo that sat atop his head.

A quarter of the halo's rotation had been completed. It wasn't much, but the amount of glowing golden radiance had increased drastically since the last time he laid eyes on it. It had dangerously shot up when he wasn't looking, that much was certain, but the question that puzzled Raditz was the factor that determined its progression. Did the halo extend over time? Or did it increase with the amount of damage he took?

Either way it mattered little in the grand scheme of things, but the matter served as a distraction to help Raditz focus until another piece of the test revealed itself. The ape didn't seem to be too much in a hurry after its last attack, so Raditz simply regained his balance and waited with his arms crossed for something to happen.

Fortunately this didn't take long, as only a few moments passed before another mirage from his past blurred into the empty space beside him. Spectral images of two fighters waged war around icy mountains and took it in turns to pummel each other senseless. Raditz would've never mistaken his own form flying around the astral memory, but the other figure surprised him the most.

"_Divine Blaster!"_

"_Kaio-Cannon!"_

Two beams, one golden and spiralling and the other a beastly dark crimson flared up from the palms of their masters, connecting with a force that rocked the entire glacial range. Of course, Novus was the other fighter – he'd pushed it aside for a time, but seeing it now Raditz couldn't deny the guilt that stung him every time he met the eyes of his sparring partner. He had killed Novus. Without him she would still be alive.

Raditz looked away and reminded himself that he was hardly to blame; in fact his own mind had twisted the scenario on him. Novus _chose _to die; she chose to divert the last of her life force into Raditz and her actions guaranteed her a safe place in the afterlife. What did he have to feel sorry for? Thinking this, Raditz turned back, but then was immediately forced to avert his gaze when the haunting image of Novus's mangled body clawing its way up the mountainside appeared before him.

"That's all you've got?" he called up to the ape. "Tricks and memories? It'll take more than that to stop me!"

Sensing its own mockery, the great black ape swung a heavy fist down like a hammer fall. Nimbly Raditz hopped away before darting to the air and sending a crackling discus of energy surging towards his foe's exposed face. The attack struck true, exploding in a small puff of flames right on the left eye of the giant ape, though if it pained him or not, Raditz was never sure.

The creature reared its head, arched its back and let out a furious wail. Its eye was completely unscathed – it seemed more and more to Raditz like it was his stubborn perseverance that fuelled the ape's fits of chaos. It made wild grabs and even a few swiftly whipped lashes of its tail at the saiyan, but by the skin of his teeth Raditz always managed to move at the last possible opportunity, even when the relentless barrage hardly gave him a moment to spare.

Eventually Raditz found himself some space. From the ground he leapt as high as he could away from a rushing palm that closed in like a giant flyswatter. At the same time he twisted, changing directions and leading the second incoming fist before feinting in a sudden stop. The resulting carnage consisted of his enemy simply grabbing at nothing with one hand and smashing itself in the arm with another – it was hardly a fantastic diversion, but a few seconds were all he required.

_I can't carry on like this_, he decided, taking his time to breathe. Sweat dripped off his forehead like the beads of a chilled beer pump, and his hands shook from both adrenaline and shock absorption. Everywhere from his head to the tips of his toes had been enveloped in a stifling heat; his gut was the worst, tying itself into a knot like a trapped animal out in desert heats. _If I don't do something I'll run out of energy before this stupid halo reaches halfway_. He looked at it again – two fifths of the full circle had already been completed. _But there's nothing here; no environment to use to my advantage, no allies, no potential backup; not to mention no power! _Raditz charged his hands with ki in another desperate attempt to power up, which again met with failure. _Taking it head on isn't even an option, but it seems like the ONLY option! What else am I supposed to do?_

The battle instincts that Raditz had developed suddenly caused him to bring up his arms and curl into a defensive position when an exploding sphere went off to his right. He shielded himself from the inevitable energy surge, but to his surprise none came. He looked straight at the sphere once again, finding only a mirage where he'd expected an attack.

Raditz wasn't sure which he would've preferred, being smashed into nothing but broken bones by the ape or watching this particular scene play over and over again. Worse still, the video seemed to repeat as if on a loop.

A single planet stood out in the void of space, its outer atmosphere populated by thousands of soldiers. Even from the miniaturised, holographic illusion that Raditz saw it didn't take him long to realise what he was looking at. The planet was a bustling metropolis, with technology centuries ahead of Earth's and a race of people who liked nothing more than challenge and excitement. A ship hovered overhead, and from it a single ball of orange materialised and began to swell.

When the ball hit the planet everything went white. Sudden disorientation was then followed by the view of an explosion which shook the galaxy, and then of a tyrant who sat back and laughed as the world he'd enslaved burned before his eyes.

The planet of course was Vegeta, the home of the saiyan race and traditional namesake of its leaders. Raditz's mind replayed to him a memory he'd thought lost to time, of the day his home went up in a haze of space dust. He'd been about five years old at the time – not old enough to understand what exactly had transpired, but old enough to experience that sudden horrific realisation that hit him; that his father, mother and newly born baby brother had been killed in the explosion.

It was hardly a pleasant memory for the saiyan then. He hovered, lingering on the point of illusion until the house-sized paw of the giant ape swiped him out of the sky and back to his senses. After tracking the glaring white floor for a time Raditz flipped back onto his feet and slowed his skidding just in time to bounce away from another incoming kick. The ape thrashed and stamped, threatening to crush him into nothingness unless he managed to escape.

Soaring back up past the midsection of the creature, Raditz eventually succeeded in getting clear of the ape's deadly manoeuvre. He dodged a handful of swings by increasing and decreasing his speed before continuing his ascension towards the head of the beast. He flew straight past the chest, a place with hair so thick that its skin could inhabit a small forest, and the foul whiff of drenched dog seeped into the rushing winds.

Eventually Raditz passed the ape's clavicle and burst into top gear to clear the neck. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, cursing himself for his recklessness as he prepared for the unthinkable.

_Only option is to fight huh?_ He wondered. Even as he stared back at the white-fanged, black-eyed monstrosity Raditz was still completely unconvinced by his own plan. He brought up a fist and poured as much energy as he could muster into it. Compared to his regular fighting power the amount summoned was poultry, but it was all he had. _Well then take this!_

As he discarded all fear Raditz surged forwards, screaming like a madman as he drove his right hand straight into the jaw of his opponent. For a single heartening moment he thought it had worked; his fist sank several inches into fleshy muscle and the beast seemed to recoil somewhat, but it only took him a few seconds to realise that it didn't flinch – it was preparing itself for an attack.

The saiyan leapt away from snapping jaws and flailing arms, weaving through the terrifying barrage in a desperate attempt to look for a way out. One presented itself in the form of an elbow - an elbow that slammed hard into his side like the helm of a cruise ship propelled at Super Saiyan speeds. Raditz hurtled towards the ground like a hairy black comet, and this time his landing wasn't quite as smooth. The impact of the fall hurt substantially more than the leading left elbow that his ape conscience dished out.

How long for could've been anyone's guess; all Raditz knew was that he blacked out for an indeterminable period of time and lay there in a heap of broken rubble until his senses returned. He might have been lying there for five seconds or five days, but when he finally roused himself the ape was elsewhere – gone from his view. He reminded himself – as he had done countless times already – to stay calm. Nothing could deter him if he kept his wits close. He had to see this through to the end and make up his own mind whether to fight the thing or not when all had been said to him.

Of course this was harder than it seemed. With the vivid playbacks of his betrayal, his fight against Novus and the destruction of Planet Vegeta, remaining level-headed required a whole new plateau of concentration. It wasn't just the images that he saw; often the same feelings he experienced when those moments had actually happened came flooding back to him. He _relived _those moments – just watching would be too easy.

There was also the growing halo to consider. Another look proved that the gold circle had completed more than half of its rotation.

"Fighting it huh? So much for that idea," he said to himself, spitting a mouthful of blood to the stainless white floor.

Then the mirages began again, this time more brutal and unforgiving than before. These weren't memories; rather, they were nightmares - scenes that his mind fabricated in self-loathing. They depicted his loved ones. Half a dozen members of his small group of family and close friends presented themselves. He knew instantly that they were simple illusions, yet for some reason that didn't make the wounds of their words any shallower.

"Get out. I don't need the weaklings – the runt of the litter to be in _my _service," said a proud looking Vegeta. He vanished the moment he finished his sentence, only to be replaced by another.

"Student?" grunted Piccolo. "Don't make me laugh. I'd have more luck training a slug to fight."

"Don't push it, you never stood a chance." Novus appeared next, turning her back and looking down on him as though he were a stray animal.

"You think I'd forgive you?" The others had looked mocking and amused, but Gohan appeared livid with anger. "After everything you did? As if I could just forget about something like that!"

Again the ghostly form of Gohan evaporated like steam from a kettle. Where he stood Bardock then appeared – his own father. "You just don't compare to your brother," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean come on: the first Super Saiyan in centuries, vanquisher of Frieza – how did you expect to live up to that? And he's younger than you too! Why do you think I hardly saw you when you were younger? It's because you were weak! Pathetic! Even Nappa was your superior for many decades – an adversary your brother defeated within minutes!"

A bitter taste like warm iron flooded Raditz's teeth as he realised to his dismay that he'd been biting his inner lip so hard that it began to bleed. It was everything he could do to stop the tsunami of tears that threatened to overwhelm him if he just released the knot in his throat. He knew who came next, and he also knew that this one would be the hardest of all to repel.

Instead of some fictional hurtful comment, Goku's manifestation was a memory, making it all the more potent. He stared at Raditz across an empty field, puffing and panting after the force of their recent battle.

"I don't _have _a brother!" he cried.

The words drove a dagger through Raditz's chest. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist tighter, defending himself against the stream of emotion and remaining oblivious to the low rumble that began to heave from behind him. It was like a sinister presence breathing down his ear, and when he finally noticed it the moment had passed to do anything to stop it.

A foot crashed into him, kicking the saiyan like a football miles across the open air of his mind's endless field. With all the wind flattened from his lungs Raditz made his first priority gasping as hard and fast as possible to fill them. Quickly recovering blinded the saiyan to all else. If he'd kept his senses on alert he might've noticed the giant hand reaching towards him to catch him in mid-flight. A spasm lurched up his spine as he was caught by the tail between two fingers of the giant ape, stopping his flight so suddenly that he feared his backbone might tear right from his body.

After being slung around for a few swift circles Raditz was then flung to the ground. He was left to squirm in helplessness for but a few seconds before hell itself began again. Normally the ape would stand around and wait for him to get up whenever it downed the saiyan, but not this time. Fist after fist the ape pummelled Raditz further into the ground, with every strike shattering his bones that seemed to regrow anew every few seconds just so they could be crushed again.

His head lolled to and fro like a broken pendulum as hellfire rained down in the form of house-sized fists flattening his entire body. To maintain focus here was nigh-impossible; to keep his mind occupied Raditz took to counting the amount of punches he endured. It seemed like the ape was trying to hammer him further into the ground like a stubborn nail, and so once he reached the three digit mark Raditz instead diverted his thoughts to something else.

He thought of his brother and his father; of his friends and family who had stood beside him for his brief return to the realm of the living. Focusing on that image helped – it distracted him from the pain and concentrated all his thoughts on his reason to fight until his sense of time blurred into disarray once again.

After an incalculable amount of hours and days flew by the pain finally lessened. His body still screamed out that it was way past its limits, but at some point where he'd stopped paying attention the ape had ceased its assault, leaving him to take in every blow as he remained completely immobile. His breathing grew so long and heavy that one might think him asleep, and it took him a while to finally open his eyes.

A cloud of red toned his vision. A few seconds passed before Raditz realised that it was blood. He focused past it, peering through the crimson fog and to some dimmed event that transpired not twenty steps away. As his eyesight cleared the saiyan finally realised just what he was looking at; whether this was a mirage or not forever eluded him.

A row of people stood before him, all well-built, tailed beings with a halo atop each of them to tell him they were all long dead. Crazed black hairstyles were common in all of them, along with each a different shade of reddish-pink fur that covered them from waist to neck.

Every one of them was a Super Saiyan 4.

The Elder Kai's knowledge of the transformation had indirectly revealed to every Z-Fighter alive that at least one Super Saiyan 4 had existed in the past. Just under a hundred stood in a row before him, men and women of different sizes from different timelines, dead for hundreds or even thousands of years – countless generations before Frieza had enslaved the entire race. He even spied one that bore a striking resemblance to himself, and another who looked like his father and brother. None said a word; they didn't have to, for he understood right away why they were here. Their relatively young age at the time of their death proved one thing.

These were the saiyans who had failed to attain the Super Saiyan 5; they had undergone this test just like he had and died in the process. From the Elder Kai's knowledge Raditz's mind knew that other Super Saiyan 4 had existed, so was it conjuring this image to him? No, how could it know there were so many, or what each of them looked like? Was it just making this up to trick him? As he gave the halo another glance – three quarters complete – another frightening idea hit him:

Perhaps he was so close to death that he was actually peering beyond the veil and reaching out to his fallen ancestors in the afterlife.

_So many of them_, he considered faintly. _So many were claimed by this – I had no idea._

"Raditz," began one of them. The man stepped out of the line and into full view. From the flat of his back the saiyan could see that he was a somewhat shorter man, encased in full saiyan armour with deep frown lines and hair that flowed straight up like a flame. Raditz chuckled as he spat out a tooth; the man's resemblance to the saiyan prince was uncanny. He must've been a part of the royal saiyan bloodline.

"Hate to say it but you should come with us," he added, regarding the giant ape that loomed over him. "There's nothing more you can do here."

"Hey hey!" Another Super Saiyan 4 stepped out, this one a woman of a similar age. "Come on Vegeta, give him a chance! Go for it kiddo!"

The ancient lord Vegeta sighed and placed a thumb and a finger between his eyes. "Come on Orion, you're just giving him false hope."

"Haven't you even been paying attention to your own race lately? Goku and your own descendant managed it!" insisted the woman.

"Sure, but they were prodigies. How many times have we watched this happen Orion? It'll be the same result as usual."

"Well it will if you keep putting them down like this!"

Vegeta exhaled again as he stepped back into line, making way for another saiyan to emerge.

Raditz recognised this as the man who resembled a mirror – his doppelganger from another time. The man walked right up to his unmoving, broken body and kneeled down next to him, surveying the damage wrought upon the saiyan with a wincing hiss.

"This is all your choice, don't listen to them," he said plainly. "I'll level with you Raditz, you've got two options. You could come with us and be immediately free of the pain that I can only imagine is tearing you apart right now, or you could continue fighting. I'll be honest; your odds aren't good at all. In fact they're almost non-existent. It's up to you." The man looked away, lamenting. "I know I didn't have the strength to carry on, so no one would blame you for doing the same. Then again I'll understand if you want to continue."

With that, the prehistoric saiyan retreated back into line as the small army of them stood motionless with eyes transfixed on Raditz.

He'd heard and seen everything during his stay. With his mind so muddled and conflicted the decision was hardly an easy one, but after what felt like the longest time the saiyan acted.

His hand quaked; blood from his elbow ran down his forearm and dripped like a tap from his fingers as he brought it up and placed it flat on the ground. Then, using everything in his power he forced strength into his biceps, slowly pushing himself up onto all fours. Once there he heaved, vomiting more blood and taking another three breaths to calm himself.

Raising his leg was even harder. His right foot refused to move from its crawling position until he screamed and dug his fingers into the ground like a crazed bereaved. Once he was on one knee a final roar that echoed through the chasm of his mind finally gave him the power he needed to stand. The cry caught the attention of the great ape once again, and as it rounded on him Raditz stared at the ground, half dazed and wheezing, hunched over like an old crone - seemingly dead on his feet.

It had taken masses of mental focus and countless hours of endured torture, but through sheer deliberation Raditz had managed to keep his sanity. His head was clear and his mind sound, ensuring that any decision he made was completely his own. By keeping his thoughts occupied onto what he held dearest he'd reached the final frontier, and now that all had been said his choice was made.

"You can tell me anything," he began, gasping between sentences. "That I've been a traitor; that I'm weak; that I failed at protecting my brother, my friends and even my own planet. You can tell me all that as many times as you like. . ."

The ape growled and pitched back its arm before swinging down for its final move. Faster than ever before its punch rushed closer like a meteor. Enormous muscles bulged and clumpy hairs rippled as it did so, and from its feral snarl another roar of puddle-thick spittle showered the ground. The saiyans behind him averted their eyes; one of the women screamed out in terror and the old Vegeta cried out a warning for him to move.

". . . It won't make any difference. . ." Raditz went on.

The shadow of the giant fist spread over him, just as it had before. This time the saiyan made no attempt to evade; he was done running, not just from the ape, but from everything. He reacted only when the gap between life and death had been reduced to inches, snapping up his arm faster than any could follow and stopping the full momentum of the behemoth's punch without budging an inch.

Finally Raditz lifted his chin, left hand still firmly ending the ship-sized fist as his body changed. Salmon coloured fur coated him and the aura of the Kaio-Ken flared out more excitedly than ever before. Super Saiyan 4 had been accessed, yet Raditz's eyes of a distinct red began to flash, switching rapidly between their normal hue and an opaque, glowing set of spheres that conveyed no emotion.

"_Because it's nothing I haven't told myself a thousand times before!_" he concluded.

Hell broke loose as the saiyan took to the skies and the duel began its explosive climax, and not too far away the man that looked just like him stepped forward and addressed his former king.

"You owe me a planet," he muttered.

"Oh sure, I'll just detract it from the entire galaxy you owe me," replied Vegeta.

"Just you wait; we'll be even when he wins."

"_When _he wins? That's a bold presumption don't you think?"

* * *

By the time Frieza reached the edge of the giant crater he'd shaped into the planet he'd already banished the dead saiyan named Raditz from his thoughts. Instead he thought of how he would recolonize his followers, how to find the other Z-Fighters and what wine he would have to accompany his supper. In fact the tyrant was so wrapped up in thought that he failed to hear the noise like a cranked up generator buzzing to life until half a minute after it had begun.

He cocked an eyebrow and turned, realising to his utmost horror that the lifeless saiyan he'd left at the centre of the crater – who should have been dead by now – had begun to glow with some kind of heavenly light. The moment he saw it the wind started, a hurricane gust of some thunderous force that whipped at his face and gave him no choice but to hold up a hand to shield himself.

He dug his feet into the ground to keep his balance as Raditz's energy pushed against his senses like a giant claw reaching out to consume him. Gripped by dread Frieza waited, his eyes wide and his pulse quickened by the raw power he felt. There was no way this could be Raditz; someone new had clearly arrived to save him, yet only one signal appeared, and he knew the foul sensation of a saiyan power all too well.

The light grew so intense that it blinded him momentarily in its supernova shine. After a few moments of darkness, the wind slamming against his body cooled to a stop as the light began to subside. Frieza looked, squinting through beady eyes toward the point of interest - to the origin of that wicked energy that grinded itself to a controlled high.

The first thing he noticed was the eyes; radiant orbs of blood-red colour shone out from the humanoid creature, contrasting starkly against the black fur that covered his torso and sharp, thin spikes of hair that led down from his scalp to his waist.

With muscled bulged out for a flawless balance of strength and speed Raditz's new physique was perfection for the art of battle. His biceps flexed and his abs churned, infinitely deeper and more toned than they had previously been. A single stripe of that same red of his eyes brushed down his torso and up his back along with another two lines etched into his triceps. Matching the aesthetic, Raditz's jet black trousers remained intact, this time decorated with bloodshot flames blazing up from the cuffs.

In spite of all the damage he'd taken Raditz had been fully healed by the transformation, save for the one fatal injury that had finished him off. Instead of a bleeding wound though, a broad, cross shaped scar across his chest had taken its place. The initial burst into Super Saiyan 5 healed all superficial wounds, just like it had done for Vegeta's broken bones during his fight against the Vicis captain. However, those that left a permanent mark would stay as such – Raditz would carry that scar for the rest of his life.

Intimidating as a woken dragon the saiyan looked straight towards his foe. Even Frieza couldn't help but flinch as those glowing, pupil-less eyes glared at him with all the intensity of a raging blast-furnace, staring deep into his soul and wrenching out all his fears for all to see.

Finally he spoke, his voice hoarse and deep.

"_Let's end this_," he said.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Now _that's _more like it! I'm totally stoked right now! Back in business folks! Heh, 'raging blast-furnace' - that's totally the title of the next DBZ game.

So yeah, Raditz has finally managed to attain the Super Saiyan 5, meaning that at this moment in time Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo are the only single characters on the Z-Fighters' roster who could beat him. And of course there'll be a drawing with him to accompany the next chapter.

Of course it's not exactly plain sailing from here; Frieza is still a complete powerhouse, but with that said the next chapter will be the climax. Three chapters long would make Raditz vs Frieza the second longest battle in the series, just behind Goku and Vegeta vs Chronus at four chapters and tied with Vegeta vs Duodecimus at three.

Oh yeah, and the whole thing about past Super Saiyan 4s and stuff, that's still actually open to anyone's interpretation. Like Raditz said, it could just be his mind playing tricks on him, or it could be that his proximity to death allowed them to reach over and confront him. Either is fine, though I know which one I'd rather believe. Just out of interest, 'Orion' is a pun on the word 'onion', since pretty much all the saiyans are named after vegetables. I didn't wanna give a name to the guys who were Raditz/Goku/Gohan/Goten/Bardock's ancestors, probably because I knew that anything I thought of would sound lame compared to Toriyama's awesome naming xD

Now, today the One Star isn't Alpha, The namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul or Ginyu the frog. It's totally Pui Pui.

(Honestly I think I might run out of sucky villains before the Alpha fight, let's cross our fingers shall we?)


	18. Chapter 18 Judgement

Chapter 18: Judgement

"Super Saiyan 5 eh?" Frieza tried his hardest to keep his voice calm and controlled, but even despite the façade two emotions crept into his tone. One was of nervous fear, the other of barely masked rage.

Raditz saw past it immediately. Unblinking and unmoving he said nothing as four distinct bolts of lightning began to quiver around him in a circle. He fixed the tyrant a stare with those menacing blood-red eyes the same shade as his signature attacks, daring him to make the first move whilst Frieza weighed him up.

He seemed to wear his new scar with pride, paying little attention to the broad, ugly cross carved across his chest.

Three beads of sweat dripped from the organic, five-pointed helmet of bone that Frieza's new form granted him. He paused; he'd seen the Super Saiyan 5 before on his colleague Broly, and whilst the idea of a newly transformed runt shouldn't have posed too much of a threat, the unwavering glare his opponent exhibited gave him cause for concern. Confidence existed there where it should not have been. Fuming, Frieza growled and clenched his fist into a tight ball, crying out in frustration. "_I will not be defeated by you monkeys a third time!_"

With that, the ground parted beneath the conqueror as he set off in a crazed rush for his target, traversing one hundred feet of broken wastes in an instant before closing in with a mighty swing of his fist. His eyes had already begun darting around for Raditz's warp point - it was a sloppy move and he knew it – but to his surprise when the hammer of his punch fell it met solid flesh. His fist careered into Raditz's cheek, slamming into bone and pounding mortal muscle, forcing the saiyan to stagger back four paces and drop to one knee.

After panting from his outburst of anger Frieza's lips curled into a smile. Raditz used one hand to support himself and the other to nurse his swollen cheek, but after a brief sigh he got back to his feet as if nothing had happened.

"That settles it; you're tough, I'll give you that," he said, his voice low and hoarse in his new body. "Even with this form there's no way I can beat you unless I go all out. I had hoped to use this as a last resort, but it looks like I've no choice. . ."

Frieza flinched again as he met the soulless red eyes of his opponent. Now it was Raditz's turn to grin.

"_Kanzen. . ._" he began, straightening himself out and closing his hands to form fists. _"Kaio-Ken!_"

At his command the ground beneath Raditz exploded, giving way to a blood-red aura of spiralling wisps, spinning around him in a powerful whirlwind that amplified his energy output. Through the lens of the furious maelstrom of ki his skin seemed to take on a reddish tint like a sunburnt peach. Frieza gave in to his anger once again and reached through the haze to make a grab at his opponent, though his lunge was only met by a swift boot to his knees followed by a spinning uppercut that sent him soaring to the skies.

Raditz darted after him, preparing a third strike just as the tyrant spun around, regaining focus and matching his attack. The two fists collided with such a force that the saiyan thought his knuckles might shatter on impact; being so new to this transformation its limits were alien to him, and he knew he'd have to push it all the way there to stand a chance of winning.

After the moment's pause the two fighters reengaged one another. Blows were traded – a hundred in the blink of an eye – as every connection clapped a sonic boom into the depths of the planet that shattered the blue crystals growing from its surface. To tarnish such beauty was a price Raditz was prepared to pay, as he realised from the instant he met Frieza's first attack that this was no time to pull his punches.

As the two fighters battled across the planet, furiously scrapping at equally ludicrous speeds, Raditz knew that the planet had to be damned; forget the serenity of its waters and the calming atmosphere of its reflective blue crystals, he'd destroy it all in an instant to win this battle – even his own life was inconsequential. As the speed began to escalate so too did their altitude. They rose higher and higher into the sky, separating and dive-bombing at each other whenever an opening appeared.

It only took Raditz a few moments to realise that this was intentional. Despite the almost non-existent margin between the two, Frieza was definitely the one controlling the fight. Even with his new Kaio-Ken active the tyrant directed which way they would go, and he chose the highest reaches of the sky for a reason. His plan was to get Raditz so involved in the battle that he failed to realise when he was leaving the planet's atmosphere; then when he stopped to gasp for oxygen that wasn't there Frieza would make his move.

_Damn it – I knew I should've brought the device_, he scolded himself.

Unfortunately for Raditz, the opportunity for a counter-attack came quicker than Frieza expected. A wave of fatigue suddenly overwhelmed him as the spiralling aura of the Kanzen Kaio-Ken vanished into thin air, leaving the saiyan wide open for a sudden blast to his scarred chest that sent him right back down to the planet itself. In his earlier form the blow would've put him down for a good few seconds and probably broken a few bones, but as a Super Saiyan 5 Raditz could more than handle it.

He flourished back into stance mere moments before he hit the floor, landing firmly with both feet on the ground with such a shockwave that the planet cracked miles into the distance and dangerously quaked beneath him.

He staggered briefly and clutched his chest in pain. Not from the wound – any traces of agony that the scar had left him were wiped away when he transformed. No, it was the Kanzen Kaio-Ken that took its toll.

_So I can sustain it for two minutes_, he told himself, remembering to keep a mental note as he fought. _But it does more damage than I thought it would; I'll have to end this quickly, if I don't then it'll beat me before he does._

Upon transforming Raditz instinctively knew that his old technique just wouldn't be useable anymore. The basic Kaio-Ken wasn't usable for a Super Saiyan due to the stress it put on the body, and the Super Kaio-Ken eliminated that, allowing the user to bypass their regular limits.

Similarly, Raditz knew that he'd gone as far as he could with the Super Kaio-Ken, and that using it in this new form would be impossible. But then, he'd also been using it for years; his experience coupled with the moment of epiphany upon his transformation allowed him to develop a new strain on the fly to suit his needs: the Kanzen Kaio-Ken.

Immediately his eyes scanned the sky for any trace of his opponent's energy before reminding himself quickly that Frieza had learned to mask his own life force as well as detect it. It was frustrating to get used to; when he served under Frieza, the tyrant's distinguishing trait was that one could feel his energy from planets away, and now that advantage had gone. Instead, Raditz closed his eyes and began to listen, keeping his senses on full alert to detect any vibrations that came his way. The moment he glimpsed Frieza the saiyan's shields were up.

"_Kanzen Kaio-Ken!_"

As swift as he could manage Raditz set off at a run across the ground, stung at his heels by a rapid series of concentrated ki attacks. He darted to and fro; off one foot and back off the other, but it did little good when the thunderous bursts of energy rained down like a focused meteor shower. He scouted the source of the attack through the reddish tint of his swirling, materialised power, and the moment he saw an opening Raditz leapt to the air, turning and lobbing a golden globe of energy like a football pass.

To bat away the attack Frieza was forced to disengage the maelstrom of flares that he shot as one would a machine gun. In the tiniest fraction of a second after he made his movement Raditz closed in; Frieza's dramatic after-pose of his deflection left him wide open for a rushing elbow driving into his gut by the airborne saiyan. The tyrant's aura dissipated momentarily, but Raditz would show him no quarter in which to recover.

He snapped up the elbow, whipping his fist up into his opponent's chin before following up with a spinning heel that met Frieza's jaw. With not a second to waste Raditz readied an attack, aiming a signature pose at the falling body and focusing his energy into a single high-powered shot.

"_Kaio-Cannon!_"

After a spectacular shout of red lit up the planet, an explosion followed that ravaged the ground below and sent billions of crystal shards into the wind. The planet's surface was invisible to him now, dusted over with a cloud of brownish-white smoke that his attack had created. Raditz gritted his teeth and frantically glanced around; Frieza was alive, he'd seen the tyrant move in a split-second reaction before the beam struck him. His whereabouts though were another matter.

Silence fell as the dust began to settle and Raditz enjoyed the calm for a full half minute. Up there, hovering four hundred feet above a mist-shrouded surface of giant craters, Raditz knew he was completely at Frieza's mercy as his Kaio-Ken deactivated a second time, leaving him with a terrible stabbing sensation in his muscles that he fought hard to ignore. Flying in one direction would leave him open for an attack from the other, so just moving was a risk when he had no idea which direction Frieza would come from.

After what felt like an eternity the subtle, easily overlooked flutter of a vibration sounded on Raditz's psychic radar. He turned just in time to avoid a solid hook flying in from his left side, though it was arguably the worst decision he could've made. His dodge found Frieza on his blindside, and with a triumphant laugh the conqueror seized Raditz's tail in his hands and set off towards the ground.

The saiyan was swung around like a shot-put at speeds so fast that determining direction became impossible. Up down, left, right, forward and back became indistinguishable to him with the blur of images and the seizures of pain racing up his spine. Since his first battle on Earth Raditz had since learned to train his tail against weakness, but it still hurt when someone swung it around so fast that it felt about to tear off.

He slammed headfirst into what felt like a mountain – it could've actually been a cliff or a small hill – he couldn't be sure. All Raditz knew was that his head crashed through solid rock, and when he began to recover from his incredible wave of dizziness akin to thirty shots of tequila he was being repeatedly punched in the face by a livid Frieza.

"_Foolish-monkeys-and your-self-righteous-arrogance!_" He screamed between throws of his fist. "_Why-do you always-refuse-to DIE!_"

The punch that highlighted his final word must've dislodged Raditz's jaw, as a distinct crack echoed around his mouth like someone had thrown a stone into an empty cavern. The pain brought him back to full alert, with his sense of direction completely fixed; finally he realised that he was actually lying on his back on the ground rather than being pinned up against a wall or a ceiling.

One of Frieza's hands still clutched Raditz's tail, and the other was raised above high his head for dishing out all the punches he desired. A foot rested on the saiyan's chest, pushing him down and restraining him completely with surprising force for a creature so much smaller than him. The tyrant's face was a contorted, frowning look of disgust as his threshold had finally been crossed. He gave Raditz another punch for good measure before descending into laughter.

"Oh do excuse me," he cooed. "I appear to have lost my temper. I suppose you can understand and all, what with being defeated by you saiyans twice already, and now their weakest little bastard is trying to make it a hat-trick."

The scar on Raditz's chest began to twinge uncomfortably as Frieza pressed the saiyan further into the ground with his foot.

"So you can see why I might be a tad annoyed I suppose. Ah well, it's been fun but I think I'll be ending this now. You see, if this goes on as it has been so far then I would no doubt win without question, but I've grown to become wary of this feeling – better to finish this quickly than drag it out any more than we have to."

Into his free hand Frieza suddenly summoned up a great disk of maroon energy that buzzed like a chainsaw, rotating around his palm as he held up the saiyan's tail in the other. Raditz's eyes widening in fear told Frieza that his assumption was already correct.

"I thought as much. I took the liberty of studying your race extensively you see – lest they ever became a problem. One thing I _do_ know is that you can't maintain these kinds of advanced transformations without a tail can you? So I suppose there's no harm in just-"

"-_Kanzen Kaio-Ken!_"

The moment Raditz's aura blasted into existence Frieza pushed down as hard as he could with his right foot. "Oh no you don't!" he snapped. It took some effort, but after a few moments of struggle the tyrant managed to push his captive further into the rock face. Once he was sure that the Kaio-Ken had been deactivated Frieza took to smiling once again and inching the discus of energy closer and closer to Raditz's tail, taking his sweet time due to his sadism demanding he make the saiyan suffer.

_He's right!_ Raditz reminded himself, struggling under the firm hold. _It might be close, but even with the Kaio-Ken my power isn't a match for his! I'll have to take it up a notch – even if it kills me I have to try. I didn't come all this way for nothing._

The spinning blade had but a few inches left to traverse before the saiyan's aura went wild, doubling in potency from its previous form and spiralling in an even more chaotic frenzy. Raditz felt his power rise with the technique initiated – experienced incredible satisfaction when he felt his own energy signal bridge the gap between them, and then finally surpass Frieza's.

"_Kanzen Kaio-Ken Times Two!_"

Using all his strength Raditz burst up from his lock, his forehead butting against Frieza's face with a new level of speed. Before his opponent could retaliate Raditz took his stance and dished out five blows at high speed: one to Frieza's ribs, one to his shoulder, one to his midsection, one to his jaw and a final overhand left to the temple. The last attack connected with such force that the tyrant actually bounced off the ground after hitting it, lining the saiyan up for a perfect volley shot.

"_Kaio-Cannon!_"

This time Raditz knew his attack hit for sure. The supercharged beam of blood-red ki exploded from his palms and engulfed Frieza in less than a second. Yet before he had time to survey the damage on his opponent, Raditz was first forced to deal with the reality of the damage he'd done to himself. The aura disappeared like a ghost in the wind, forcing the saiyan warrior to lose his composure and drop down to all fours, muscles churning from head to toe. Fifteen seconds he'd sustained the double Kanzen – fifteen seconds of power and he'd pay for it with intense pain and a few days of recovery.

A growl sounded from the smoke, wavering with rage and deep in fatigue. A battered Frieza then emerged, caked along his left side with a wide streak of glistening blood and settled dust. One of his eyes was swollen shut, the other enflamed, bloodshot and patterned with hectic red circuitry spreading out from the corners like crimson lightning.

"_You. . ._"

Raditz winced as he pushed himself back to his feet. He stumbled at first before regaining balance, mentally preparing himself to push his body further than he ever had before.

"You will rue the day you decided to cross me Raditz – I shall make you regret ever being born into this world. _Do you hear me? Death would be too easy; why, I'll subject you to the very depths of despair – the kind that hell itself couldn't muster, but only after I've made you sit and watch as I burn everything you've ever cared for!_"

"_Kanzen Kaio-Ken!_" Without thought or hesitation Raditz burst into the body-breaking technique and rushed at his opponent, landing a savage kick to the tyrant's ribs whilst receiving a solid blow to the gut for his haste.

The two fighters backed off for just an instant before flying at each other once again; they lost themselves to a frenzied oblivion – a blur of wayward punches, kicks and blasts that sent their duel half the planet away from its initial starting point. As they took to the skies Raditz deftly parried a lash of Frieza's barbed tail and retaliated with a punch to his opponent's jaw, only to be met with a scream of rage that scared even the saiyan.

Frieza's wrath reached its peak, but rather than working to his detriment it actually made him more powerful, fuelling his determination to destroy the saiyan who'd made the mistake of making him an enemy. He chased Raditz through clouds and across the last remainders of the crystal plateau screeching like a mad man, and every time the saiyan matched his resolve the two soared to new heights.

After what felt like an eternity of dashing high-speed brawling at speeds neither could truly comprehend the two combatants warped to opposing spots of land. They found themselves stood atop the shallow mounds of crumbling foothills staring back at each other for the briefest of moments before taking off yet again. In their overconfidence both abandoned any form of strategy; they collided each with a right hook, dishing out masses of pain and receiving that same impact to their left cheeks, sending them skidding back in separate directions across the stone surface of the planet.

As soon as Raditz decelerated to a stop the Kanzen failed him, this time with even more disastrous results. His heart felt as though it might explode at any second, his bones ached like the aftermath of a surgical transplant and his muscles wreaked agony across his body at the mere twitch of a finger. But still he got back to his feet, knowing Frieza wouldn't take to defeat so easily.

Raditz spotted his opponent across the plane in just as dismal shape as he was. As Frieza limped back into form the saiyan could've sworn he saw a flaw in his guard – a chance to end this battle once and for all. Unbeknownst to him though, his enemy saw the exact same opening.

"_Kanzen Kaio-Ken Times Two!_" Pushing past the new heights of pain Raditz exploded into his spiralling aura of blood-red wisps and cocked his hands so that his palms opposed each other. If he saw the equally potent atmosphere of purple flames materialising around Frieza he paid no attention to it, as all his concentration became devoted to the swirling mass of energy flowing through his fingers. Once it was ready the saiyan wasted no time at all.

"_KAIO-CANNON!_"

Frieza also cried out a wordless noise of rage as he pushed his own attack into existence. Raditz recognised it immediately as the same fizzing, unstable violet ball of raw power that had given his chest its scar.

When the two attacks rammed against each other the resulting explosion finished off whatever remaining magnificence the planet claimed to have. Raditz's body went berserk when the blast propelled him off his feet right in time to coincide with the defusing of the double Kanzen; he actually became thankful for the deafening roar of the imminent explosion drowning out rather un-saiyanly screams of torture.

Opening his mouth to cry out meant that he inhaled a lungful of noxious smoke from the sky-high mushroom cloud that could no doubt be seen from space. He coughed and spluttered as he hit the ground, barrel-rolling across rocks and razor sharp crystal fragments for miles on end until he came to an eventual stop.

Not for the first time today, Raditz's sense of time was thrown into complete disarray as he simply lay there, unmoving with his eyes tightly shut. He tried not to move, for doing so would wreak another wave of destructive pain across his skeletal structure. Had he won? Was Frieza dead – killed in that giant explosion? He told himself just that over and over to make himself feel better, but when the distant sound of a limping footfall echoed through the darkness he found it hard to be surprised.

At long last Raditz opened his eyes. With every ounce of determination he had the saiyan flopped over onto his stomach and began to push with his hands, taking every tiny movement an inch at a time. After an age had passed he somehow – miraculously – found himself standing on both feet, albeit hunched over and looking as if he'd fall back down with a single prod.

Finally Raditz took in his surroundings. The planet itself had been morphed into a wasteland; he'd seen locations on Earth where humans had built nuclear weapons and deployed them to warring nations, and he felt the atmosphere was similar, only this was far worse and on a completely global scale. Swirling white mists snaked at random intersections around him and the sky above had been blanketed by a series of greyish-brown clouds the colour of dirt.

Every rock formation had crumbled, every crystal broken and all the water dried up on this once-beautiful, once-blue planet. The ground beneath his feet had been caked in an ash-like substance and twisted into sharp, ugly black shapes like the railings of some haunted, decrepit manor from a dramatized horror story. The air itself was tainted with the fallout of their energy, as tiny cackles of energy both red and purple would buzz randomly around him like exposed wiring. Just to be here would kill any normal human.

Through the distant mist Raditz could make out the shape of Frieza, this time looking even worse than before. The tyrant hobbled towards his target and out of the asphyxiating mist, revealing half of his tail to be missing along with the recently widened wounds that he'd received earlier. After seeing Frieza so smashed up Raditz wondered whether he looked the same – he knew he'd taken more internal damage from the Kaio-Ken rather than his opponent's exterior injuries.

He looked down for a moment, thanking his good fortune that he'd managed to hold on and maintain his black-furred transformation of the Super Saiyan 5.

"It's over," Frieza began as he staggered closer and closer. "I've won."

"You have, huh?" Even with his cocky retort Raditz could hear the apprehension in his voice behind the smoke-filled wheeze.

Frieza smiled and licked his lips. "Yes," he elaborated, "that technique of yours – it's lying to your body, pushing it beyond its regular limits for brief bursts of power. You don't have enough energy to summon another one of that magnitude – you'd die."

Raditz gave a vague smile and slowly nodded. Ever since they'd matched fists as transcended entities he had a feeling it might come to this. "That's probably true," he admitted, looking down at his hands in weakness. "But let me put it to you this way:" He looked up. "What makes you think I've got a problem with that?"

"Hm?" Frieza arched an eyebrow, prompting Raditz to drop into a wide stance.

"_Kanzen Kaio-Ken!_" Even after chanting the name of his attack Raditz continued to hum in pain as he broke past his mental barriers and summoned the whirling typhoon of energy. He transferred power into his hands, dipping into his own life force. More sparks of red lightning jolted around the battlefield as if in response to his bravery whilst Frieza snarled in annoyance.

"You just don't know when to quit do you?"

"_Times Two!_" Raditz cried, ignoring the mockery of the tyrant and flaring up the Kaio-Ken into a double. Electricity bounced from his fingertips; he continued to chant and the spiralling storm of the Kanzen grew. "_If I die here you're coming with me!_" he added.

"_As if I'd let that happen!_" bellowed Frieza. He took off towards his enemy, seeing at a glance the beginning of the same attack the 'Kaio Cannon' that had devastated the planet when met with his own. If he took the time to study it though, the conqueror would've seen a few key differences in the form and pose.

"_TIMES THREE!_" Raditz's roar shook the nameless world as the Kanzen Kaio-Ken leapt up into a howling tornado. The ground beneath him disintegrated into complete nothingness, the four lightning bolts of the Super Saiyan 5 and the tempest Kaio-Ken aura destroying all in their path. The triple multiplier of the technique was just for insurance; with a direct hit Raditz supposed the double would've finished Frieza off, but he had to be sure.

Frieza closed in, screaming like a maniac and ignoring all his wounds to fly as fast as possible; he meant to stop the Kaio-Cannon before it was primed, but as he reached his target he realised something was different – Raditz's hands began to glow with a blinding shine of burning red ki, a different process to the beam he utilised. He noticed this too little too late though, as by the time he realised the difference he was within reach. He aimed a punch just as Raditz's eyes glowed more fiercely than ever. The saiyan brought back his hands and pushed them forward in what appeared to be a palm strike.

"_Eviscerate._"

Frieza stopped in mid-flight as the glowing palms met his body with both the light and heat of a thousand suns. He screeched, watching his own body disintegrate and burn beneath him, stretching out from the point of impact and breaking him down into nothing but basic molecules. A flash of red and the contented expression on Raditz's face became the last thing he saw before being wiped away, his particles fleeing to the sky before fading into oblivion.

Raditz remained still for a moment after the Kanzen Kaio-Ken deactivated. With eyes closed he took a deep breath, ignoring the fact that he was drenched with his own blood and about to die at any second. At long last he released his exhale and opened his eyes before falling back to the ground, slipping out of consciousness for a well-deserved rest.

* * *

"Frieza is dead." When King Vegeta spoke at last he alleviated the awkward tension that had been brewing between the two saiyans. They'd been sat on the upper deck of the ship, with Bardock eager to hear the outcome of his son's battle, although apparently he didn't need informing.

"You don't say, genius," Bardock replied, jerking his thumb towards the radar monitor that no longer displayed the four-star Dragon Ball. "But what about Raditz?"

King Vegeta shut his eyes tightly and concentrated hard on the planet half a universe away. "It's difficult to say. Right now he treads a fine line between life and death; if he can get back to his ship he might just survive, though with the power fluctuations I've been feeling I suspect he's overused that technique of his, so it might not be so easy."

"Damn it," Bardock cursed, clenching his fist and gritting his teeth. "Is there any way to help him?"

"From here? No – it's all up to him now," added the King. He continued to focus on Raditz's signal until his head suddenly twitched, as though a shiver had ran down his spine. Bardock noticed the irregularity and decided to quiz his comrade.

"What is it?"

"Something else is approaching Raditz - another power," revealed King Vegeta.

"Friend or foe?"

". . . I'm not sure."

* * *

When Raditz opened his eyes he saw the muddled shapes of three beings standing over him. Through hazy vision that spun like a rollercoaster he could make out only a few details, but one that he noticed was the presence of coloured glass scouters on each of them, and two wielded cannons on their arms that amplified ki attacks. They were Frieza's soldiers, the last remaining ones on the planet that had managed to survive the battle between the two titans. How they had lived through it was a mystery even to Raditz, but here they stood, pointing blasters straight at him whilst trembling in fear.

"We'll finish you off right here and now!" claimed one of them.

Only a groan escaped Raditz as he opened his mouth and tried to speak. From the flat of his back he was completely paralysed – in his most basic form and at the mercy of the three weakling rogues threatening to end him. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Just try it – see what happens," he managed.

A peach coloured soldier backed off in sweats, though he was quickly encouraged by another.

"He's bluffing! He might have been powerful before but he couldn't kill a bug at the moment!"

"Well in terms of strength there isn't much difference between you three and a bug as far as I'm concerned," Raditz revealed, and it was true enough when he was in top form. From here he could do nothing though. The man was right, he was bluffing; even a simple energy burst was impossible for him now. "Leave while you've still got your lives," he croaked.

This time two of the three lost their nerve; such was the raw power he'd demonstrated in beating their master that his bluff worked. The third however remained convinced that he could succeed where his lord had failed. He snarled in annoyance and turned his blaster to Raditz, who lacked even the mobility to shield his face from the blast.

He suddenly lost all regard for the growing sphere being charged at the end of the cannon. A consciousness pressed against his mind, one of pure uninhibited evil that wreaked chaos across the already ravaged planet. A bolt of green lightning cleaved the sky in two as the muddy brown clouds above shifted colour once again. This time they blackened, transforming into the most malicious looking storm clouds Raditz had ever set eyes upon as half a dozen more flashes of green ki descended from above.

With it came a presence that he was only too aware of in his vulnerable position; the sheer power and malevolent structure made him want to run and hide – to get himself as far away from this planet as possible. In his current state though, such a feat became impossible. Raditz was left squirming helplessly on his back as the three remaining survivors exchanged confused and fearful words that the saiyan could hardly make out.

Raditz knew that this could only mean one thing – only one force alive could generate such power to frighten even a Super Saiyan 5. He smiled to himself; he got a kick out of knowing that somewhere in space, his brother was suddenly and comically thrown from his feet and propelled halfway across the room – possibly even out of bed – because his ship's tracking system made an instant turnaround.

Another flash, this one even brighter than its predecessors, lit up the eclipsed atmosphere so suddenly that the trio before him jumped in fear. The light marked the appearance of its creator, a man who wore shadows and darkness wrapped around him like a cloak, with tiny dewdrops of the stuff dripping from his body and scorching the ground as if it were molten lava. He was exactly as Piccolo had described; a being with a rather muscular frame whose features – if he had any - were hidden behind the veil of shadow that he wore.

The three survivors traded looks of terror before blindly rushing at the man out of fear. By the time they came within just a few paces though they were already dead. He didn't even have to lift a finger; once they entered his wispy aura of vapour-based shadow they simply fell to the ground and crumbled to dust. Lesser beings could not even stand in this villain's presence.

". . . _Alpha_," presumed the saiyan, speaking from his vulnerable position.

"That would be me!" jeered the dragon, who looked around before nodding in apparent satisfaction. "Quite a mess you've made of this place, just what I like to see!"

"Get on with it then," Raditz growled through a spit of blood.

Alpha lifted his hand and waved two fingers, tutting in disapproval as he did so. "Hmm, now that's just rude. After all you _did _put on _quite_ a show. That was without a doubt my favourite so far Raditz! You should be proud!"

"I'm honoured. . . Now can we just get this over with?"

The dragon gave an exaggerated sigh before suddenly sparking up a blast of powerful black ki in his left hand. It was the kind that might mortally wound Raditz even when maxed out, but when powered down, paralysed and half-dead already there would be nothing he could do to survive here. Alpha sniggered a childish laugh and licked his lips. "If you insist. Heheh, I suppose if I leave you here you'll die anyway, so finishing you here and now would be preferable wouldn't you say? Think of this as your reward for providing me with such entertainment."

Raditz said nothing in reply as the dragon made its way forward and loomed over him, blocking out all light like a human form of the black spire of the Vices he'd breached so many years ago. The saiyan closed his eyes and braced himself for the end, thinking of all he cherished as the dragon reached its shrouded, energy riddled hand towards him.

_It's been fun while it lasted guys._

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Heyhey! Super Saiyan 5 Raditz is now officially up on my profile page, but I warn you, if you don't have your badass resistors turned up to eleven you might not survive looking at it. I'd hate to strip Vegeta of his title but to be honest I think Raditz might have just taken the crown for the most awesome, badass looking transformation. So yeah, it turned out really well – one of the best so far in this writer's humble opinion.

Oh yeah, and 'Kanzen' is actually the word for 'perfect' in Japanese if anyone wants a little context for Raditz's technique. The word is actually mentioned occasionally in my other fic as a technique that's been talked about but never actually seen yet, so that's where I got it from really. The 'Eviscerate' move is also something new – basically it's Raditz's new close-quarters move. Goku has the Dragon Fist and Vegeta picked up the Royal Assault in the last saga when he transformed, so I thought it would only be fair to give Raditz one too.

Guess there isn't much else to talk about I suppose. We're moving on to Gohan and Krillin next chapter, and if we're lucky we might just get a glimpse of Raditz's fate.

This week the One Star isn't Alpha, The namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul, Ginyu the frog or Pui Pui. It's Garlic Jr! Everyone hates him right?


	19. Chapter 19 The Plan

Chapter 19: The Plan

Gohan was already awake when the first light of one of the planet's twin suns crept out from behind it, spilling light into the lengthy bay window near the cockpit. Up until now he'd only seen their planet shaded in darkness, and now he finally got a good look at the giant.

It was orange in colour, enormous and bleak as it stood alone in space for lightyears in every direction – the only planet in its galaxy. Hazes of dust swept up from the rapid winds and created a sandstorm to surround the desert world; it enveloped the whole planet in a swirling mist that reached up to the skies and, on the ground level, Gohan imagined it would make even immediate threats difficult to spot.

He'd said little ever since the death of his precious daughter. He remembered his father had kicked and shouted in rage, but he'd merely sat back and preferred to be left alone in his grief. He still ate, slept and trained, though he remained quiet throughout most of it and hardly muttered a word to Krillin. In actuality the bald veteran had helped out more than he realised by just being there – if Gohan had been on his own he knew he'd be climbing the walls in days.

Krillin also never forgot to remind his friend of the new way back to the realm of the living. It was some huge comfort to know that Pan could come back without the Dragon Balls, yet he still wished more than anything that he had been the one to destroy Baby for good. Instead he'd have a different opponent; Frieza or Cell by the sounds of things. They'd already seen and fought Broly, Baby, Duodecimus and Buu – Frieza and Cell were the only two big players remaining.

He'd also had time to reflect on his upcoming fight. Although he knew Krillin would be valuable he hardly expected him to hold his ground against a being as fearsome as a Shadow Dragon, so he knew it would ultimately fall to him to bring this foe down. Was he strong enough though? From what he'd heard, the others had been ridiculously strong, and it had taken everything from Vegeta, Gotenks and Piccolo to beat their opponents.

He wasn't as strong as those three and he knew it. Super Saiyan 5 had always been a power beyond his own and he knew the moment Piccolo returned that something deep within had changed for him – he was stronger, more sure of himself than he was before. The namekian then had clearly undergone a massive power boost, but Gohan had experienced nothing of the sort. In the last three years his training had been intense, but his growth in power felt slight and rather underwhelming compared to the other fighters. Had he finally reached his limits?

He thought this over as he stared out of the window until Krillin floated up the ladder behind him, a spoon in one hand and a bowl of cereal in the other. Having recently gotten out of the shower, the monk set down his breakfast and pulled an undershirt over his head before throwing on his gi, the same orange and white shade as Gohan's own.

"So that's the planet?" he asked when he saw. "That thing is huge! Must be fifty times the size of Earth!"

Gohan nodded slowly. "Easily. The computer says we'll get there in half an hour, you sure you're ready?"

"As I'll ever be," said Krillin, beaming eagerly.

Half an hour passed before it felt as if a minute had elapsed. Krillin's unwavering confidence turned to jittery nerves not long after he made his bold statement, but when they finally hurtled through the dusty atmosphere and touched down on the planet that anxiety turned back to anticipation. He was smiling already when the stilts of the ship buried into smooth sand, and even in spite of the atrocious sandstorm outside he seemed keen to push on.

"Computer, give us a readout of the planet's schematics," said Gohan.

The ship's voice had just about started its sentence when Krillin cut it off suddenly. "No, no, no! We can't do that! We didn't do it the first time we went to Namek, remember? We just stepped off and hoped for the best."

"That was dangerous – this planet might not be inhabitable for humans and saiyans."

"I doubt Alpha would send us to somewhere like that, and it's a risk I'm willing to take," Krillin revealed.

Gohan laughed to himself; it was the first time he'd laughed in days. "You're really eager to make this trip as nostalgic as possible aren't you?"

"Sure am! I said already that this is going to be the last adventure I go on, so it's gotta be memorable!"

The saiyan hybrid gave off another laugh, eventually conceding to his friend's reckless idea. He ordered the ship to open the main hatch and held his breath as the blast door decompressed in jets of steam. It swung open to a swirling storm of sand that flooded the main chamber, forcing both fighters to cover their mouths and squint to see past the hindrance of particles without having their eyes invaded.

After a few minutes of adjustment the pair made their way off the ship; it was worse outside. For miles and miles in every direction the land was an endless stretch of orange dunes, rising and falling in height as their sandy surface was swept up and deposited by the zephyrs of the planet's strong currents. Whether this storm would last forever neither of them knew – they might have a better idea if the computer had been allowed to recite its statistics.

Even with shielded faces, the wind still nipped and cut at their hands and cheeks. In the gales of sand seeing more than twenty feet ahead was rendered utterly impossible. Was this to give their opponent an advantage somehow? If they fought in this weather they'd be forced to rely far more on sensing energy than their vision. Gohan leaned back into the cockpit to check the radar, finding that the bleeping red light of the Two Star lay a few minutes north of their location – he sensed nothing for now.

"Well, it's not quite Namek," Krillin observed after swallowing a mouthful of dust.

Gohan agreed, and the two were about to set off when the saiyan sensed something on the horizon. On this desolate, empty world, power levels stuck out like a sore thumb, and these had clearly been trained to lower their energy to nearly nothing, a trick the Z-Fighters often used. They'd only reveal themselves when they wanted to be seen.

This wasn't just a single power level though; a dozen or so weaker creatures headed their way. With a clear horizon Gohan reckoned he'd be able to see them by now, but with the thick sandstorm blocking their view they were forced to wait in silence.

It wasn't a new power either. This was something Gohan knew better than any – the energy he felt in his nightmares and thought back to frequently. It had been the battle of his life, the magnum opus of his fighting career. This was Cell's power signature, lingering like a bad smell on all twelve of these approaching powers.

* * *

"Earth!" cried Goten as he stepped out of Capsule Three. He took in the refreshing air of his home world in one great inhale before releasing with eyes closed and a look of contented ecstasy across his face. "There really is no place like it is there?"

"Agreed." Trunks stepped out to join him, looking equally happy now that he was back in the safe landing zone of Capsule Corporation's back yard. Already he could feel the familiar energy reading of his own mother rushing down the stairs of the skyscraper before them. "Uub!" he called back into the ship.

Uub quickly appeared. The young man looked considerably healthier now that he'd had a few days to recuperate. Colour had returned to his face and his lips were once again back to their full shade of pink; he walked upright instead of limping and his wounds had almost completely closed. The damage was still visible though; the saiyans could see it in his eyes and expression. It was one of dishevelled lament at the knowledge that his power was gone, and there was no way to get it back.

Still, he was as mature as any of them. Uub knew that he had a job to do – one that only he could perform. He wouldn't compromise it by moping and he'd give it nothing less than his full attention.

"You sure you're up for this?" Trunks added, concerned.

"Yeah, sure I am! Don't worry about me guys, I'm right on it. It might take a few days but it'll be done." With that, Uub pressed two fingers to his head and disappeared at lightspeed. His energy signal vanished immediately, reappearing three islands and hundreds of miles away.

The saiyans sighed and continued on down the folding steps of the capsule's door to find themselves back on soft grass. The courtyard looked very different than it did when they'd first set off – it felt like years ago now. Instead of being crammed with seven identical vessels, their own capsule was now the only ship that inhabited the space.

All the others had gone: Goku, Gohan and Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, Raditz and their saiyan grandfathers had taken one each. The yard seemed empty, much less full of life and excitement than it had been weeks ago, and even if the others were here Trunks doubted they'd repeat the same level of enthusiasm.

Now that they'd gone up against the Shadow Dragons each Z-Fighter knew exactly how powerful their enemies truly were. They'd already lost Vegeta and Pan, not to mention Uub's energy had been stripped from him – and they still hadn't heard back from Raditz. The odds of winning this war seemed stacked against them, and even if they somehow managed to survive, each of them knew it wouldn't be without more sacrifice.

Bulma suddenly rushed under the wooden archway of the clearing, though the look on her face made her feelings impossible to read even for Trunks. Was it relief? Fear? Excitement? Anger? Even she didn't seem to know what to feel: on the one hand she thought she might slap Trunks for not calling enough and on the other she might hug him, thankful that he'd returned home safe.

Being caught between those two reactions meant that Bulma opted to do neither, and instead settled for greeting her son with an oddly frowning smile. He returned it with a chuckle as she showed them indoors, offering coffee and other refreshments as she sat them down and had them explain exactly what had occurred since their departure. So they did.

Whilst they recited the story Bulma merely sat back and listened, nodding occasionally and soaking in every little detail like a sponge. Goten corrected and filled in the blanks in Trunks's memory every so often and vice-versa, as they took it in turns to narrate different parts of their adventure. They explained the fusion rings, the Supreme Kai's appearance, Uub's recklessness in taking on Buu alone, his subsequent loss of strength and their victory.

"Well it's a good thing you're back," she said once they'd finished. "When I heard what happened to Pan I was sick with worry, I don't want you to end up like your fath-"

"Dad's not dead, mom," said Trunks.

"Trunks, you can stop worrying about me now – I'm a grownup. You don't have to lie to me to make me feel better," Bulma replied.

As this was going on Goten sat back and twiddled his thumbs. He sipped his coffee awkwardly and fidgeted in his seat, unsure about being present for such a serious family debate. He knew Trunks wouldn't appreciate being subjected to something like this either, so he averted his eyes and began a low whistle, determined to pretend he wasn't listening to a word. Fortunately the argument didn't last long.

"Honestly it's not that!" Trunks exclaimed. "I believe he's alive."

"And why's that? There's no evidence to suggest it aside from your crazy granddad's word. No one knows where he is so he _must_ be dead; don't delude me into thinking he could still be out there, you know sometimes that's just cruel."

Trunks fervently shook his head, rigid in his stance on the matter. "Alright, there's no evidence, but he went up against _Broly_."

Bulma tilted her head in confusion. "What's that got to do with anything? Isn't he supposed to be one of the most powerful beings out there?"

"He is, but father is stronger. There's no way he could lose to someone like Broly, trust me, he's in a whole other league. If Gotenks and Piccolo could take down a Shadow Dragon then he definitely could." Trunks wasn't lying – he believed that beyond a shade of a doubt. If voicing his opinions also managed to cheer up his mother then he couldn't complain either, because she _did_ suddenly soften up at his statement.

"I suppose you might be right," she said, sighing. "You know more about this stuff than I do anyway. I lose track of how strong you guys are – honestly I got lost after Super Saiyan 3, they all look the same to me."

Goten released a sudden, difficult laugh. His reaction was so abrupt that he nearly spilled his hot drink. "I think Vegeta might order a divorce if he caught you saying that."

"I'd like to see him try," Bulma said. "See how long he lasts."

The trio shared a loud laugh that quickly broke the tension before settling back down to business.

"So why are you back anyway?" Bulma asked.

"Well," Trunks explained. "There really wasn't anywhere else to go. No one asked for backup except for Tien, and Bardock and grandfather are already on their way to help him. There's only three of the minor Dragon Balls left and they're all taken, so if-"

"Two," corrected Bulma.

"Huh?"

"There's only two left, Raditz's vanished this morning. Still haven't heard back from him though."

"Really? I Hope he's alright."

"I'm sure he is - he's Goku's brother after all. Anyway go on." The woman motioned for him to continue.

"Yeah, If we go out there after another then we risk making a wasted trip – they'll probably be beaten by the time we arrive. Plus we needed to come back for Uub; we've got a plan that should ensure the safety of Earth."

"Oh?" Bulma was curious now, even more curious than she'd been when they described their story. She'd thought for ages about a way to help secure the people whilst the Z-Fighters were away, but no avail. Any barrier she made would no doubt be smashed by Alpha in the blink of an eye, and space travel from Capsule Corporation wasn't quite developed enough yet to ferry the entire human race off the planet.

Goten leaned forward and clarified, "Uub lost most of his strength when he fought Majin Buu, but all his techniques are still intact. The Instant Transmission is apparently simple and it doesn't use up too much energy, so he's going to use it to transport the entire populous – and hopefully most of our buildings – to another planet. If the Earth is intact when this is over then we can just zip back, but if it isn't we're going to have to do a lot of rebuilding."

"Roads, sewers, mainlines – that sort of thing," offered Trunks.

"I see," said Bulma. Such a massive task hardly sounded appealing – it would take decades for the governments to rebuild all that on a global scale. Then again it was better than total genocide; there really was no other alternative aside from migrating to another planet. They'd managed on the moon after the Tuffle invasion.

"So right now, Uub is going around to Mr. Satan, a few other celebrities and the world leaders to organise it. If Satan can vouch for him that he's one of the fighters he mentioned in his speech three years ago then the others should go along with it. If they can get everyone together in groups of a few thousand it should be no problem for Uub. With Alpha's big announcement the Earth is scared already, so I doubt there'll be much resistance."

Bulma looked about to agree with the plan when a light at the corner of the room began to flash. Danger red, it whirled around and filled the room as a deafening claxon echoed down the corridors. Trunks and Goten exchanged looks of confusion, though Bulma looked terrified.

"_Oh no_," she muttered, quickly jumping to her feet and starting off down the first corridor on the left.

Perplexed, the two half-saiyans leapt up and followed her. They kept their senses on alert in case anything should attack; strangely enough though, nothing seemed out of the ordinary on planet Earth. After rounding a few corners and opening two giant blast-doors with Bulma's facial recognition system, the trio quickly found themselves in a small room.

The room itself was in darkness save for the warning streaks of red waving their way across it every moment or so. When that happened the place was illuminated. This was Bulma's command centre; not even Trunks had seen this place before. At the very middle was a cosy, adjustable leather seat that swivelled on its axis. Surrounding it were eight plasma screens, revealing high definition streams of the different capsules. Tien didn't reply as usual, Raditz was still elsewhere and for some reason Gohan and Krillin were indisposed.

One screen lit up for Goku, another for Piccolo and a third for Bardock and King Vegeta. They each looked as puzzled as Trunks and Goten themselves.

A fourth screen then whirred to life. It was difficult to make out at first; a heavy sandstorm billowed against the monitor, flecked orange with tiny motes of red and yellow dust to make the whole scene visible as if looking through a lens of flame. After squinting, two figures became visible through the mist. One was lean and tall, his hair black and well groomed. The other was shorter and bald-headed. Both stood in their respective fighting positions, as though waiting for an enemy attack.

"Are you guys seeing this?" asked Goten, putting his face to the microphone.

"Yeah, we're seeing it," Piccolo grumbled.

"What happened? What is that?" Goku, ever the slow one, was the first to ask the question that seemed so obvious to the others.

"Our communications have been disrupted," said Bulma. "I don't know how he does it, but I imagine Alpha is the one showing us this." She retrieved her glasses from her pocket and pressed them to her nose as she leered closer at the desert setting. It was impossible to make out who they were with the furious storm, but she had an idea as to who the duo were.

"That's what the red light is for?" Goten had to check.

"Yeah; I can't stop him from jacking our system but at least I can get a warning whenever he decides to interf-."

"_Hello_ boys and girls!" Alpha's chilling, sneering voice suddenly cut into the audio feed. As the Z-Fighters recoiled in shock his following high-pitched laugh assured them that he was watching them constantly. He didn't have his own screen as usual, instead he narrated over the sandy tirade that he'd decided to show them. "It's been a while hasn't it? How's everyone been? Keeping well I hope!"

"Just great," said King Vegeta.

"Good, good! Oh well I'm truly glad you're all in such high spirits – that should make this next event all the more. . . Mmm." The hungry splash of Alpha licking his lips came through the speakers. "_Interesting_. . . This really will be a battle for the ages, are you as excited as I am?"

Goku raised his fist and looked straight up at the camera. "And how do you expect us to watch this when we can't see a damn thing?" he demanded.

"You can't?" asked Alpha, genuinely surprised. "Oh all right. I forget how blind you humans are."

At Goku's request, the sandstorm dragging a haze over the fourth screen suddenly dissipated. It vanished in a puff of wind and expelled itself to all directions; the howling of the high gales ceased as though they were never there to begin with. With the smokescreen cleared the Z-Fighters achieved a perfect view of the scene of battle, and the two warriors that remained its focus.

It was Gohan and Krillin, just as Bulma suspected. With eyes to the sky they watched vigilantly for enemies. Goku quickly noticed the twinkle of a few powers over the horizon, but being half a universe away the only person who could make heads or tails of their energy was King Vegeta.

"It's Cell," he observed.

"_Doo-du-doo! _Two points for the King of all Amusements!" cried Alpha.

"No. . ." In the neighbouring screen Bardock shook his head and closed his eyes; he tried his hardest to fend off the visions that came back to him so quickly that he found it impossible to make sense of them. The terrible truth finally became impossible to ignore. "This has happened before – I've seen this already," he revealed. "They're in danger."

* * *

Gohan's surprise was minimal when the dozen-strong troop of energies suddenly changed direction and swerved on a path towards them one at a time. He _was _shocked however when the sandstorm around them suddenly fled with the wind. It was like the very nature of the planet itself had changed in an instant; everything stopped, becoming still and silent as if in respect for the battle to come.

With the sand out of their way they saw more clearly the horde of incoming foes, allowing them to time their evasions accordingly. The creature at the front lobbed a fizzing ball of golden ki at their direction, and with immaculate precision Gohan and Krillin darted away to the skies in separate directions. The blast struck the surface where they'd stood and lit up the ground like a bomb as sharp particles of sand ricocheted in every direction.

They'd avoided the attack, but their victory was short lived as the eleven others broke formation and threw the exact same techniques their way, over and over again so that golden blobs poured down like rain. Dodging the attacks then was like weaving in and out of an on-going meteor shower. Gohan cast a wary glance to his left to see how Krillin fared, but to his amazement the veteran kept up just as well as he did; he even fired a Destructo Disk or two to slash apart any sphere that got too close.

Eventually the downpour stopped – apparently even Cell's minions had their own limited supply of ki. Yet Gohan still had no idea what these monsters were; they still hovered above, though were too far away for him to make out their exact features. All he could sense was the nightmarish energy of the bio-android Cell seeping off them and pervading their attacks in that strange mismatch form of the Z-Fighters' techniques that he employed.

They'd find out soon enough anyway, for now was their turn to attack.

"Krillin, go!" Gohan called.

"On it!" With his command received Krillin swiftly conjured another of his stark yellow disks and threw it with all his might. One warp of high-speed dashing found him riding on top of it, joining Gohan in soaring up to the clouds where their opponents kindly waited in a line for them. Once they neared the saiyan realised with a start exactly what they were, but by then it made little difference.

Gohan ploughed through the first of the Cell Juniors whilst Krillin streamed past him atop his own attack. He kicked off his surfing disk once he entered the ranks, letting the saw carry on through the sky and cut through a second mini-Cell right as he twisted his body and hammered a third straight down to the sand some four hundred metres below. Sensing danger, he turned and blocked a punch, coming face to face with one of the snarling beasts.

He hadn't noticed it before, but something about the Cell Juniors was different. They still took on a bluish hue and bled green puss whenever something pierced their rock-hard skin, but their form and structure was different. They were leaner, shorter and far more moderately proportioned; their faces looked more human than ever before and their tails and wings had been clipped considerably.

Krillin wondered whether this was a reflection of the real Cell as Gohan blasted through his aggressor and turned himself back to back with his partner. They hovered still in mid-air, eyes darting between their opponents as they planned out the quickest and most efficient way to dispatch their foes.

Despite himself a wide grin came over Gohan – it was the first time he'd experience true joy in a while, and it wasn't just from his saiyan blood heating up. Just the very idea of staving off evil with an old friend at his back filled him with a sense of purpose and excitement that he'd long since forgotten.

"Feeling nostalgic yet?" he asked.

Krillin laughed. "Oh yeah! This is just like the good old days!"

"Got that right. Reminds me of the time when – _watch out!_"

A Cell Junior broke rank and sped towards Krillin, ramming into him with such speed that the short man's nose was bloodied immediately. Gohan whirled around, and as he throttled the creature's neck Krillin recovered and intercepted another rushing monster from his partner's blindside.

"Excuse me!" The saiyan continued; to pronounce his words Gohan delivered a brutal smash to his captive's stomach. "But I think you'll find!" A kick met the Junior's side as Gohan vented his frustration before flinging it away, tumbling through the sky like a ragdoll. He charged a yellow blast into his hand and unloaded the Masenko wave like a cannon to the pathetic, flailing creature, sending it out of life in a dramatic explosion. "-_That we're trying to have a conversation here!_"

"You okay there Gohan?" Krillin joined him with a laugh. Once again they stood back to back, on different sides from where they'd began the battle.

"Okay?" replied the saiyan. "I'm better than okay, I'm on _fire."_ He clenched his fists so tightly in excitement that his veins throbbed from his wrists. "Six left – get me an opening and I'll finish them all in one blow."

"Works for me."

With the makings of a plan the pair separated. Gohan soared higher into the sky as Krillin suddenly feigned a loss of energy, plummeting into freefall. He amassed power into his hands as he dropped like a stone. This caught the attention of all six Cell Juniors; they figured the bald man was collecting all his power into a single blast, so they followed him as he smoothly flipped back onto flat land.

Instead of doing as they expected, Krillin instead reabsorbed most of the ki he'd charged, leaving only enough for him to cross his hands over his face and discharge his power in one photographic flash. High above the clouds Gohan averted his eyes.

"_Solar Flare!_"

As predictable as ever the lesser minions fell for the ruse. They stared right into the heart of the blinding technique before being suddenly struck by a light more intense than the sun. It bored into their gaze like magma, forcing them into a panicky cluster of identical creatures, scrabbling at their faces, hoping by some miracle to scratch out their own eyes – anything to get rid of the brief yet unbearable pain that hit them.

Way above him Krillin noticed the familiar glow of azure energy shining from his partner, pooling at his feet as it pierced through the clouds. If only to save himself from being demolished by the blast he concentrated the same energy into his palms of the Turtle Devastation Wave.

"_Kaaa. . . Mayyy. . ._" Their two voices echoed around the desert in unison.

"_Haaa. . . Mayyy. . ._" By now the six remaining Cell Juniors began to panic. They clung to each other, groping around in the sky like blind old men. Since each of them possessed this technique they knew what was coming, equally realising that they could do nothing to stop their own demise.

"_HAAA!_" When the final syllable roared into existence it was instantly punctuated by two blasts, each of tremendous velocity, pulsing from the hands of their attackers and rocketing towards the blinded creatures. From above and below they were sandwiched – crushed between two extraordinary Kamehameha beams; they met at the crowd and erupted in a flashy display of smoke and fire, immediately reducing each Cell Junior into little more than dust.

The battle had been an easy one; Gohan hadn't even needed his first transformation and even Krillin hadn't gone all out just yet. Before the explosion was over the saiyan landed by his partner and the two celebrated their victory with a brief knock of fists, smiling and laughing to themselves.

"You know you didn't have to fire that last attack," chuckled Gohan.

"Are you kidding me? Have you ever seen the receiving end of one of your blasts? I had to do _something_ or I might've joined them."

The two shared a laugh, oblivious to the fact that Goku, Piccolo, Bardock, King Vegeta, Bulma, Goten and Trunks were watching from galaxies away. They – even Bulma – had already seen the twinkling flash of light on the horizon of their monitors, but in their enjoyment the two fighters failed to notice until he was right upon them.

Keeping his power level low, Cell had snuck up from behind the pair and touched down smoothly before either could notice him. He cracked his neck and flared out its power to his natural, ungodly level of strength – that got their attention.

As the two whirled around Krillin shrank back in fright and shuffled behind Gohan for protection. With his triumph ruined the saiyan went back to his game-face, though his cool exterior didn't still the flame inside him thirsting for battle. Deep down, somewhere buried behind human fear and regret, was the saiyan instinct to fight. It burned stronger than it had in years, pushing itself to the surface with every shallow breath Gohan took.

Normally, when faced with an opponent of vastly superior strength, most became governed by fear. Not Gohan. The saiyan half of him hungered – thrived on a foe whose power dwarfed his own. It was a challenge – a chance to prove himself to his own ego and everyone he held dear, because if he emerged the victor there would be no greater glory.

"You look different," he said.

Indeed he did. The new appearance of the Cell Juniors clearly took after their master. Cell himself now stood tall enough to pass for a large human instead of the giant height he once possessed. His body was leaner; in fact it was almost devoid of the black carapace that covered his chest, and the speckles covering his oily skin – now a lighter shade of lime green – had all but disappeared. The twin spines atop his crown had shortened; his wings were slimmer and his absorbing tail completely missing, or perhaps hidden away somewhere inside him.

The yellow framing of his face was gone too, and also the purple by his eyes had lightened into a tone of pale lavender. He was still totally inhuman though. If he appeared on the streets of Earth most might not recognise him as the monster that had terrorised their planet more than three decades ago, but they'd certainly notice that he was a being totally separate from their own. The two-starred Dragon Ball stuck in his chest was certainly an indicator.

"You think so?" Cell replied, his voice as cold and velvety smooth as ever. "Yes, I expect I do – it comes with the territory after all."

". . . What territory?" Gohan dared to ask.

Cell laughed aloud. "Oh you don't know yet? I'm surprised no one let it slip. You see upon my resurrection Alpha got me another present. The negative energy you gathered in the Namekian Dragon Balls was considerable enough for him to bring back another morsel for me."

Gohan considered the implications; Cell only devoured Androids – anything else was incompatible. And every time he did, the monster took on more and more of a human appearance like the one he now possessed. There was only one Android left in hell, something they'd defeated long after Cell's demise. If he'd assimilated that kind of power along with a Dragon Ball it spelled more trouble than they'd bargained for.

"Super Android Seventeen," he figured.

"Good," answered Cell. "Come Gohan, let's not waste time. I want to see you at your best so I can beat it into the ground. I won't waste your time if you don't waste mine."

With his intentions declared Cell dropped into a wide stance as the Dragon Ball upon his chest began to glow. After hearing of battles from the others Gohan knew what this meant – he was going to full power. He'd stand no chance against this unless he showed his own hand too, so with a burst of renewed vigour the saiyan reciprocated the gesture as he prepared to ascend to his second Ultimate form.

* * *

Across the flaming ash-lands of the half dead world Raditz walked. Just putting one foot in front of the other was a trial in itself, even after he'd spent the last twenty four hours lying on his back staring up and the skies of the burning planet.

He'd come face to face with Alpha – the most powerful enemy they'd ever come across by a mile – and somehow escaped with his life. What he saw, however, wasn't something he wished to remember. That sheer terror he experienced had long since consumed him to the point where he _wished_ the fiend had gone and delivered the final blow. But why had he been spared?

After trekking for so long the saiyan finally came to the top of a small rise, one of the only segments of the planet that hadn't been totally levelled. There, far off in the distance at the spot where his blurry vision ended, was Capsule Six, nestled comfortably right where he'd left it. The ship had taken a beating for sure; Raditz was even surprised that it hadn't died just like everything else on this planet. Even from afar he could see the tendrils of static electricity bustling from the brig, but not after noticing that the stilts had collapsed and witnessing a huge denture in the side as if some giant had punched it.

The ship had been built to withstand even Goku's attacks. The combined power of Raditz's latest form and a negatively charged Frieza though, had proved too much for it. Like the planet itself the ship looked on its last legs. He only hoped the core functions were still intact so he could escape – he had to tell everyone what he'd seen before it was too late and they rushed in like idiots to challenge him.

There was no stopping Alpha; such a task was impossible even for Goku. As much as he hated to admit it Raditz knew that even the staggering power his legendary brother wielded couldn't defeat a foe like this one. He had to tell them, but between walking to the ship in his condition and taking on Frieza again he'd chose the tyrant a thousand times over.

Walking those fifteen miles or so with a burnt-out body was nigh impossible. To Raditz, that distance seemed longer than the road they'd taken six months to cross in order to reach the Gates of Life. He felt like a human – weak and powerless to even fly a few miles, like a simple mammal gazing up at the moon and dreaming of going there.

His clothes were in tatters, barely concealing his most personal areas with the few shreds black cloth that still remained. Blood smeared across every inch of his body, transforming his peachy-pink skin into a Kaio-Ken-esque shade of red. His wounds ached with discomfort as he pushed every iota of his will into subordinating his muscles into doing his bidding, but in spite of his effort the ship never seemed to get any closer. After hours that felt like days he made his way down the sloping rise and continued on towards the Capsule Six.

During all that time he also had to contend with the dreamlike state of consciousness that threatened to overwhelm him if he didn't keep his focus. He knew that if he collapsed again he'd die for sure. Whether from his injuries, exhaustion, hunger or the planet's inevitable, upcoming detonation he'd pass back into otherworld if there was any lapse in his resolve.

At long last, after what felt like decades of mindless exercise that never ended, Raditz somehow found himself at the broken stairwell of the ramp to Capsule Six. It closed as he entered before the blast doors slammed shut behind him, though the ship itself was in ruin. The interior lights flashed with a low shade of red as the bloodied Raditz groped his way around the console.

"_Greetings, Raditz_," said the ship. If he could, the saiyan would've laughed at it. The computer's tone was broken, losing its feminine edge and speaking in the slowed-down brogue of a malfunctioning record player. It tried again to greet him; the voice stuttered and glitched before dying completely. A few panels hung from the roof, and others were strewn broken across the floor. Electricity burst forth from the stray conduits in the floor.

Raditz batted at the main console like an awkward child, his hand swatting lazily at the shapes on the Dragon Radar with his hand-eye coordination in complete disarray. At first he thought of setting a course straight for Earth, but with the plan no doubt already in progress he wouldn't make it back before the planet was evacuated. Instead his eyes drifted over to the One Star, sitting stationary back on the edge of the radar where it had been before, as though it had never moved to begin with. He tapped the blinking dot and punched the red ignition button.

The engines started – good, at least it still worked. He felt the jets start up beneath his feet and slugged his way down the ladders as the ship bolted to the skies at speeds totally inconsiderate of his condition. Nevertheless, he retained his footing. The saiyan inched his way over to the giant screen, shuffling like a zombie until he stood right before the camera.

"Con. . ." Raditz murmured. The words didn't come out right – the sleepiness of approaching death hung over him stronger than ever. He shook his head and reaffirmed his stance, knowing that he had one simple job to do before he could retire to the healing chamber and – hopefully – survive. "Conference call," he said.

He waited for the chiming of the telephone calls; he waited and waited until he was sure more time had passed than usual. Nothing came from the screen.

"Conference call," he said again, louder this time. Again he was met with little success. The screen remained unresponsive even as he repeated his statement twice over again. The communications systems must've been knocked out in the bombardment Capsule Six took from the battle, so deciding there was little he could do, Raditz released a deep breath and began the final trial of working his way over to the healing chamber.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Man, _finally _right? Had a nightmare of a month, I was working pretty much full time over Christmas, my internet decided to die and I've just finished another wave of exams – probably the hardest I've ever taken. Still, I get to start a creative writing module on Monday; I'll settle for nothing less than a first! Also, my internet has only just gotten back up over this last week and I've got like twenty-odd messages in my inbox. Working through them at the moment, so don't worry, I'm not being ignorant, just give me a few days.

So anyway! The planet is being evacuated, finally revealing this 'plan' the Z-Fighters have been banging on about for a few chapters now. And Gohan's having his rematch against Cell which, according to Bardock, might not end so well. I actually really enjoyed writing the little tag-team battle with Gohan and Krillin – kinda harkens back to early DBZ sagas.

And of course, RADITZ IS ALIVE! Yay! But hang on, at the end of the last chapter, Alpha had a finishing blast pointed at him, didn't he? Yes he did. So what happened? I'm not telling :P I'm leaving that for you to interpret for a while, but before that it looks like Gohan vs Cell and King Vegeta/Bardock vs Duodecimus fights are on their way.

This week the One Star isn't Alpha, The namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul, Ginyu the frog, Pui Pui or Garlic Jr – it's Raiti and Zaacro! (A virtual cookie for anyone who remembers those guys)

Heheh, just read the very first chapter of The Room and Spirit of Time Saga yesterday. GOD was that awful, I haven't read it in at least two years now so it was quick a shock. Buuut in spite of my criticism it _was_ pretty enjoyable looking back on where this all began back in August 2009. I dunno, maybe I'll reference it at the very end of this fic, kinda like an 'it's come full circle thing', since Alpha Tour is sadly going to be the last instalment of DBAF.


	20. Chapter 20 A Wasted Effort

Chapter 20: A Wasted Effort

The moment Gohan finished his transformation the saiyan rushed his opponent without even taking a moment to assess the situation. In his second Ultimate Form Gohan looked relatively the same, yet it was the finer details that a seasoned fighter couldn't help but notice.

The saiyan's hair stood up on end, swept with the wind as though he'd driven a convertible at high speeds with a non-existent screen. Only a single lock of it travelled down his exposed forehead, and it stopped atop his eyebrows, furrowed deep against the dark orbs of his eyes to give him a glare of coldblooded determination.

Physically speaking his muscles beefed up another notch from their original corded state; they never reached a point where they hindered him though, instead they were toned and deep-set, showing strength far beyond that which their size should've allowed. His aura flared golden and white as he set off; before long the manifestation of his excess energy became a raging inferno that blasted every molecule of sand from his location, and with it, Gohan's power grew.

He ascended far beyond the limits of what even a Super Saiyan 4 was capable of in an instant. His strength became unfathomable to those without experience; even Krillin, who'd seen his fair share of enemies and allies beyond his level, couldn't quite gauge the sheer amount of ki contained within Gohan's mortal body.

To the short bald man, trying to weigh up the power scales of the two monsters was something akin to standing at the basin of two towering peaks looming up into the clouds above him, and then attempting to work out which one rose higher. He'd been in this situation enough times now to become almost accustomed to it; he wouldn't strike carelessly, but if he saw an opening to dash into the fray he'd make it without hesitation.

Gohan continued down the warpath and met his foe with an overarching swing made for the temple of the reptilian looking creature. Since his power-up Cell hadn't visually changed much either, but his new level of god-surpassing strength more than made up for the underwhelming change in his appearance.

He dashed back from the blow casually, allowing Gohan's swing to hammer straight into nothing but the wind. Growling, the saiyan altered his approach by placing one hand flat behind the other palm. His ki fluctuated, soaring to a sudden pulse of new strength, his arms aglow with an angelic yellow shine that served as the starting position for a signature attack.

"_Masenko. . .HA!_"

The Masenko wave had been the very first energy technique Gohan had ever learned in his career. Taught to him by Piccolo as a four year old child not long after his father passed away, the beam had been an effective weapon in his arsenal since his days of action begun. Here though, it seemed as useless as flicking a rubber band in Cell's general direction.

The bio-android dodged the blast – to Gohan it looked as though Cell had taken off before he'd even primed and fired it. Instead of returning the attack, however, Cell opted to simply show off his newfound power. The creature moved at speeds that – for reasons that baffled Gohan – came close to his father's Instant Transmission. Cell had that technique in his own limited supply of skills, but instead he settled for high speed movement in quite literally running rings around his foe.

He circled Gohan like a wolf stalking its prey, only much faster and deadlier than a simple beast. One bound a time Cell moved, crossing ten feet in a curving line quicker than Gohan could snap his fingers. The saiyan saw green flashes only occasionally; they were but fleeting illusions – afterimages already fading out of the air the moment he laid eyes upon them. He gritted his teeth and locked into position, his eyes sweeping like a hawk's across the desert.

"What's the matter Gohan? Can't keep up?" taunted Cell between bursts. "I remember you were much stronger before."

Gohan frowned. "I'm far more powerful now than I was when the two of us fought."

"But not in relation to me. A gulf has opened between us – there's something missing from you. You were different last time."

"Well last time I was absorbed in anger," replied the saiyan. He sent a scatter shot into the encircling ring that Cell outlined around him, but the warp-lines of a dash confirmed to him a few seconds later that his enemy remained unscathed.

"Then that must be the source of your power."

"Trust me, you're doing a fine job of getting on my nerves as it is!"

Without thinking Gohan ran into the ring surrounding him. He planned to intercept his foe with a looping punch; Cell, however, managed to complete another full circle and come to a stop before the blow was thrown. He held up his own lime green hand to stop the attack, suffering little recoil as Gohan's fist ploughed into his blocking forearm. The saiyan then made a noise of frustration and brought up a leg to follow through on his attack, a leg that was quickly knocked aside by a push from Cell's knee.

Gohan wondered what he'd done wrong as Cell's fist rammed so hard into his stomach that Krillin saw the impression of it protruding from his spine. A spray of spittle escaped the saiyan, his eyes rolling back into their sockets and lungs flattening from the force of the impact.

As far as Gohan was concerned this simply wasn't fair. He hadn't neglected his training at all in the last three years; in fact he'd positively thrown himself into it after Chronus had threatened the universe. Why then couldn't he stand on equal footing with Cell? He could understand a minor difference in power that he'd have to push himself to overcome, but this? He could barely follow the creature's attacks, let alone try to effectively block or evade them.

At last Gohan finally felt as though he understood exactly how Vegeta felt at the turn of nearly every new foe's emergence. The prince never ceased in his struggle for strength, yet their opponents were constantly so much more powerful than him in the beginning that it served to frustrate him to no end. Of course, Gohan didn't have the luxury of going off to train somewhere and get stronger; Cell wouldn't let him just fly away in the spacecraft. He'd die here today.

It occurred to the hybrid that Cell's strength far surpassed what it ought to. Even if he had the power of a Super Saiyan 5 at his disposal he still doubted he'd manage to keep up with the movements of Gero's abomination. With the addition of Super Android Seventeen Cell must've been without equal amongst the Shadow Dragons that served Alpha.

He thought about how to combat such a threat, or to somehow turn his strength against him, until Cell himself twirled into an uppercut that sent Gohan soaring to the skies. He heard Krillin shout his name down below, though his words fell on deaf ears as the bio-android launched himself after his saiyan prey and halted his flight by landing a vicious combination. Gohan felt his midsection battered, tenderised like a raw piece of meat with a thousand blows to his abdomen.

A somersaulting heel sent him back down to the desert in a cloud of ashen sand, and Cell finished his manoeuvre by sending an exploding wave of pallid energy to the tomb in which Gohan fell. Again Krillin cried out; with his nerves fried and ears blaring the half-saiyan only barely heard it, but the fact that he heard anything at all served to confuse him even more.

His chest and stomach were bruised, more than two ribs were cracked; his energy was wavered and his consciousness blinked on and off. Why? Since his ascension Cell hadn't just opened up a gap between the two, he'd opened up a chasm – an endless void. If he wanted to kill Gohan with that one blast then he could've done so without pushing himself too hard. Why then was he still alive? – forced to bear the hellish suffering of Cell's ruthless onslaught.

He realised with a start.

"Yes Gohan. . . You see it now don't you?" called down Cell.

The bio-android was toying with him needlessly, sustaining his life and forcing him to undergo pain by prolonging the fight, dishing out the exact same punishment that Gohan had dealt to him over three decades ago. It was poetic justice as far as he was concerned. Gohan knew he should've seen this coming; maybe this was his comeuppance for being so foolish all those years ago.

Groaning, aching and bleeding, Gohan forced himself back onto his feet. He still had plenty of fight left in him, even if nothing in that fight was any match for Cell's power.

"You won't get away with this," warned the saiyan. "Even if I fall here there'll be others after me."

"None can stand up to my perfect form. Ever since I became the Dragon of Lust my power has been absolute – once I defeat you and get rid of Goku and all the other pests my next target is the One Star himself." Even despite Alpha's apparent omniscience Cell didn't seem to have any qualms revealing his intentions.

Revelations aside though, something about Cell's speech seemed to amuse Gohan. He sniggered, suppressing a laugh. "The Dragon of Lust huh?" he chuckled. "Wow Cell, you really drew the short straw on intimidating titles huh?"

"It relates to my lust for power – my desire to be the strongest in the universe as I always should have been!" Cell snapped.

"Well you're not there just yet! My dad is more powerful than the both of us!"

This time it was Cell's turn to be entertained. He smiled and beckoned to the saiyan, saying, "Gohan, Gohan. You sell yourself so short – you keep speaking as if you've already lost. Believe me, I'm far from done with you just yet. You and I are going to settle this properly."

Gohan's eyes narrowed as he dropped out of his fighting stance and stood up to full height; what was Cell planning? He knew that the android wanted him to suffer for his humiliation at the Cell Games, but now he seemed to be implying that Gohan could give him an equal fight.

"What do you mean?" he asked at last, though something within him knew exactly what exactly what Cell meant – Gohan simply needed acknowledgement.

"I mean, Gohan, that I want to see you at your fullest."

"I'm at my fullest right now."

Cell smiled again – in fact he positively beamed. "Perhaps it's the overwhelming amount of saiyan DNA in my blood," he said. "I know Vegeta made the same mistake of allowing _me _to ascend in the past. But I'm not sure I care. It's in my nature – it's a part of who I am. I won't settle for anything less than the very maximum of what you can achieve, and for that I need you to get angry Gohan – you need to utterly lose yourself to your wrath. Your daughter has died in this war already; I'm surprised you're not already there."

"Just _shut up!_"

Gohan deemed that the time for words was over as he took off from the desert floor and rushed up to meet his enemy. He clashed fists with Cell in one planet-rocking punch before wheeling over and directing his boot towards his foe's exposed temple. Cell caught the kick with ease, and then wheeled the saiyan around to hold him tightly in a lock, one arm pressed up against his back. Anytime Gohan squirmed Cell pushed harder, threatening to break his arm if the hybrid so much as twitched the makings of a heel or an elbow.

"That's not enough and you know it," he whispered in Gohan's ear. "You'll have to do much better than that. Come on Gohan, let me see you give in to it. Your daughter is dead, and if she ever returns to this world I'll kill her myself."

The very mention of Pan from the lips of someone so evil filled Gohan with anger. Twice now Cell had taunted him about it and gotten away with it; he gritted his teeth and fought against the pain in an effort to wrench himself free, but once again the saiyan found his arm being overpowered – pushed further up against the hollow between his shoulder bones.

"Better, but you've got more than that," Cell mused.

"_Destructo Disk!_"

The enticing encouragement of the charismatic bio-android was brought to a sudden end. A spinning buzz-saw of the brightest golden energy hummed from the palms of the stationary Krillin and zipped up at speeds even Gohan had to strain himself to follow. Krillin might not have been the most powerful, but that technique of his never failed to be deadly, and his pitch with it was legendary.

It soared up from the desert sands, swerving wildly despite the lack of wind and emitting a strange noise as its shine intensified. Gohan craned his neck to avoid it, though Krillin's aim was so true that he didn't have to. The bladed disk looped around him, severing Cell in two from the shoulders down. He pushed at the last second, hoping to break Gohan's arm.

Instead the saiyan escaped with only a fracture; the bone in his right arm was cracked and it hurt whenever he moved it, though at least he _could _use it. Without wasting time Gohan dashed away from the already-regenerating head of his foe and zipped down to meet Krillin on the ground level. He clutched his arm as he addressed the short man.

"Thanks, but you really shouldn't have done that. I'll try and guard you as best I can – stay out of the fight from now on, he's mine."

* * *

"Look at him." Alpha's sneer echoed around the control room, relating to Cell in a voice that could almost be called affectionate. "Such an ambitious one."

"Kakarot," said the king, ignoring their foe's comments. For a moment Goku suspected his friend had really returned before he realised that it was his father that spoke. "Is there any truth to what Cell is saying? Does Gohan's power really work that way?"

Goku sighed and hung his head. It was a difficult question to answer; on the one hand Gohan was pure enough to ride the Flying Nimbus, but the tendencies he'd displayed during and leading up to the Cell Games were something else entirely. He'd been in the best form of his career back then, so Goku couldn't exactly refute King Vegeta's question outright.

"If I know one thing it's that all saiyans grow stronger in anger," he replied. "But . . . Gohan was always different. For most of us it doesn't cloud our judgement or make us lose sight of our goals, but with Gohan, he. . ." Goku paused, searching for the right words until Piccolo gave him the answer.

"He succumbed to it."

Goku sighed once again; as much as he hated to admit it, Piccolo was right on this one. What remained to be seen was whether or not Gohan could pull the same tricks out as he'd used in the Cell Games. Had that one outburst unlocked all his latent power when he ascended to Super Saiyan 2? Or was his rage simply a long-lasting mechanism designed to push him to the next level? At this point Goku hoped it was the second – if he didn't get more power from somewhere Cell would destroy him.

"I know what you're thinking Goku, but that power was dangerous, you saw how he got back then," Piccolo advised.

Goku scratched his head and frowned. "But if he wins, what difference does it make whether he gets angry or not?"

"What if it completely overwhelms him this time? That rage of his is better left dormant. If it gets bad enough we could be looking at a foe more dangerous than even Alpha."

Alpha laughed from the screen. "More dangerous than me? Oh bless you Piccolo, you have no idea."

Goku paused; now _that _was a bold statement. He understood Gohan being volatile and unpredictable in that mode, but to think that he could actually become an enemy? It never occurred to him. Clearly Piccolo had spent time thinking about this over the years, and Goku could see that he had a point. That malicious, unbound sadism Gohan experienced when toying with Cell was something he'd only ever seen from evil – and Vegeta of course, but he was another matter entirely.

When his friend didn't reply Piccolo continued, "I really hope I'm wrong on this one Goku, I'm just saying it's a possibility, nothing more."

"Yeah." Goku nodded. "Gohan's always been like that; I guess he gets all that anger from Chi-Chi."

Goten looked around the control room as though he'd missed something. "But dad, I've never had anything like that."

"That's because you take more after me Goten!" Goku replied, forcing a smile – it was true enough; Goten had practically been his doppelganger since childhood, inheriting hardly any traits from Chi-Chi in terms of looks or personality. Trunks, though, proposed a rather different explanation.

"Or maybe it's because you're adopted."

"Hey!"

* * *

Sounds of effort rumbled from Gohan as he used everything in his power to avoid the brunt of the blows Cell sent his way. The monster had leapt for Krillin straight out of his regeneration before being intercepted by the saiyan, managing a lucky shot to his jaw. After that he'd almost completely forgotten about Krillin and dished out the beating of Gohan's life.

He kept the pressure on at all times, forcing Gohan constantly on the back foot; he could do little except dodge too late and block too slow – any attempt to strike back or seize an opening was met with utter failure and another sprain or wound on the saiyan's part. Every time he used his right arm he felt the fracture widening, and with Cell's relentless attack there would be little he could do to stop it from breaking.

So Gohan turned his left side to face his opponent as he found himself being pursued through the skies. This time Cell didn't just focus his power on Gohan's torso though, his every limb, joint and appendage was instead subjected to his force. His arms, legs, hands, feet, back and face were bludgeoned purple before he realised it. Blood curdled from the corners of his eyes, nose, lips and even his ears; his orange gi found itself in tatters from the energy blasts and the blueberry bruises coupled with deep cuts turned his chest into a jigsaw.

At long last a strike to his jaw forced Gohan a fair distance away, where for the first time in what felt like an age Cell did not chase after him. Instead, the creation cupped his hands back in a signature stance as he taunted the saiyan some more.

"Come on Gohan – give in to it! I won't be content unless you come at me with everything!"

Gohan snarled; Cell was beginning to sound like a broken record, and it slowly got more and more annoying. All this talk of his unused power just made him agitated – he didn't have any as far as he knew. For all these decades Gohan had figured that all the power his rage could offer him was used up at the Cell Games – it hadn't ever affected his Ultimate Form as far as he knew, so what did Cell hope to achieve by provoking him? This wasn't even anger, more like irritation, like a fly at a buffet that wouldn't go away.

Gohan snapped back to the present as a shining ball of the bluest ki formed in Cell's hands. The saiyan drew back his own version of the technique and fired away lest he be caught in the attack.

"_Kamehameha!_"

Their two voices cried out simultaneously like a fused being as two seemingly identical beams of pure blue clashed against one another. Despite their relative similarity in shape and size though, the true difference lay within the potency of their energy makeup, something instantly detectable to those who could sense ki. Cell's was richer in power, swallowing up Gohan's own in just under two seconds before barrelling towards him.

Little to his surprise Gohan didn't die – Cell was having far too much fun to let him go so easily. In fact he suspected the bio-android had once again held back his energy simply to keep the saiyan in one piece for the next beating. Burnt and smoking Gohan hit the sand. Even the arid desert under scorching heats felt cool on his body in comparison to the roasting he'd just taken.

He found his mobility drastically damaged. When he ordered his body to stand it failed to do so until two whole seconds later, and even then it was shaky. He managed one knee before leaning too far forward and planting down his hand for support.

"Gohan! Senzu Bean!" cried Krillin.

At the corner of his eye Gohan spied the handy little bean sailing towards him. He never even knew that Krillin had bothered to pick some up, but he wasn't complaining in the slightest. Even with reflexes slowed down to a snail's he managed to catch the bean after diverting all his concentration into lifting his hand. Never had he been more thankful for one.

His bruises cleared and his cuts closed; his broken ribs snapped back into place, and the widening fracture within his arm healed itself in an instant. His energy returned to its maximum after being so low from enduring all those attacks that he thought he might drop dead at any moment. Once again he was ready to fight, and with the saiyan genes rushing through his body Gohan knew his power would be a little higher than it was before.

But he feared for Krillin; even with Gohan's improved strength he knew he couldn't defeat Cell, and keeping the android away from his friend seemed like something he could no longer accomplish. Luckily though, Cell didn't seem to mind so much.

"Ah, thank you Krillin," he laughed.

Gohan understood immediately: healing him would do little good. All Cell would do was hammer him back down into submission in no time at all. Determined to try out his new strength Gohan flew at his opponent, though as he expected, he hadn't increased nearly enough to put him on par with Cell. His first attack was dodged with minimal effort and the following crescent kick was caught, its momentum turned against him to fling him back down to the desert.

The bio-android found him submerged deep in a small crypt with a haze of vapour-sand. He laid into the drowsy saiyan, burying his fists into Gohan's body in a slow and drawn out fashion. This time the blows came far less frequently, but they each did far more damage than their predecessors.

Although there was more resistance on Gohan's part this time around, the end result was the same. By the time Cell had finished with Gohan he was covered head to toe in wounds. His orange uniform much like his father's had been almost totally shredded from the waist up. Once he finished his barrage Cell simply tossed the saiyan like a discarded piece of clothing up to the skies.

He traced the saiyan's movements with his left hand as Gohan plummeted back to the ground, though his shock was evident when the black-haired prodigy twisted, regaining his composure in mid-flight and mustering up his energy to throw a powerful blast in Cell's direction.

"_Kamehameha!_"

Just as before the fantastic blue beam closed the gap between Gohan and Cell in a matter of moments, and just like last time it was no match for the green foe. Cell straightened out his hand, tensing it and charging it with energy before batting away the devastating attack with a simple chop that sent it right out into space. Gohan cursed, clenching his fists; it was useless.

The saiyan was just about to reinitiate an attack when Gero's finest vanished right before his eyes. This wasn't super speed either – Gohan should've at least been able to see a glimmer if he'd dashed to another location. Opening up his senses was the only option available, and in doing so the saiyan hybrid found to his dismay that the monstrous mismatch of familiar powers stood looming right behind him.

Of course – Cell had the Instant Transmission – how could he have forgotten something so crucial? Gohan whirled around to face his enemy when a heel crashed into the small of his back with all the force of an exploding planet. For the countless time Gohan hit the soft cushion of the planet's surface. He coughed up blood to the sand as his eyes grew blurry with fatigue, and he rose in the end only to feel a strong, firm hand clamp around his neck.

Cell held him three feet above the ground with a single hand, suspended and helpless before him as he choked the breath from the saiyan's lungs. No matter how much Gohan punched, kicked and struggled it did little use, as his fists couldn't reach beyond the long range of the android's arms and his kicks only amounted to minor toe-pokes with the distance. So instead Gohan grabbed Cell's clutch with both hands and tried to pry him away to get his lungs filled again; that didn't work either.

"Come on Gohan this is getting boring!" Cell proclaimed. "Where was all that fight you used to have? You were so daring and creative in the old days, now you're just like a trained dog, knowing nothing except how to get back up once you're beaten! Your moves are so predictable that I could follow them with my eyes closed!"

Gohan squirmed under the pressure on his neck. His muscles began to spasm of their own accord and his eyes darted around the planet, determined to look at anything other than Cell. For this reason he didn't see the energy blast pressed up and ready to detonate against his chest until Cell spoke again.

"I've given you enough chances. Perhaps that spark of yours is gone after all, or maybe I'm just so powerful that it's insignificant to me now. If you can survive this then I may reconsider, but for now I think I'll go after Goku."

White-hot and burning like a furnace the blast pushed against Gohan's chest. The first layers of skin flayed and blood spouted like a fountain as it slowly pressed against him. In that moment Gohan knew it was the end – the blast would destroy his insides, passing right through his chest and hollowing him out before exiting from his back. Or rather, that _would've _happened if Krillin didn't intervene.

As his eyes flickered across the land in a crazed spiral Gohan caught a glimpse of the old monk. At first he thought his eyes had deceived him, but a second look proved it beyond any doubt. Krillin sat on the sand with his legs crossed. His eyes were closed and his hands flat on his knees; he took deep breaths and the channelling of his ki was regulated at a slow and steady pace. Was he _meditating?_ Gohan was being killed and the guy was meditating? Just what was he thinking? Had he taken Gohan's "don't interfere" advice a little too seriously?

Of course not; Gohan scolded himself for even thinking it. In fact he felt especially bad when Krillin's true intentions were revealed. It took him a while to notice with his senses failing – at first he saw what appeared to be a faraway sandstorm brewing up again before he realised the sheer scale of magnificence in Krillin's attack. His strange, meditative pose wasn't his idea of a mid-fight reflection, it was an attack stance.

Cell noticed it too – with the massive cloud of energy heading straight towards them it was impossible not to. He diffused the blast pressuring Gohan's chest and left the saiyan with a minor surface wound, instead turning his attention to the most immediate threat.

"_DESTRUCTO DISK. . ._"

It took Krillin chanting the name of his signature move for Gohan to realise what the odd phenomena actually was. He hadn't seen a sandstorm; instead a whole swarm of Destructo Disks had been conjured from Krillin's ki and rushed closer and closer over the horizon, countless in number – there must've been over a million by Gohan's reckoning, and Cell's too judging by his stunned expression.

"_FLEET!_"

Gohan made a break for it, using a rapid burst of strength to sprint as fast as his body would allow over to where his friend sat. He ducked for cover and lay prone right as the Destructo Disk Fleet cast its shadow over the site of battle. It descended like a storm upon Cell, one million spinning little saws washing over the desert as he fell into a complex sequence of aerial manoeuvres – anything to spare himself from the rain of golden discuses.

The technique left Gohan stunned; when had Krillin found the time to develop such an attack? It was something far beyond what his natural power should've allowed him to pull off. One look at his friend told him how he'd managed it though. The attack must've taken many minutes to charge, and sustaining it as he had for only a few seconds caused sweat to drip from his cheeks and forehead.

Veins upon his temple throbbed in effort as his brow furrowed into a tight frown. He expended energy at an alarming rate, as the technique totally burned out his body if used for even the slightest amount of time; if he kept it up for much longer he'd die for sure.

"Krillin stop!" Gohan screamed over the storm.

But the man didn't listen. He pushed harder as the fleet hit Cell like a tsunami. For a while the android managed to successfully evade every single one of the golden disks hurled his way, but after about thirty seconds he stopped being so lucky. As his stamina began to fail him Cell was struck by more and more Destructo Disks.

At first they simply glanced off him as his dodges became too slow; his blood rained in every direction as the circlets slashed across his body. Soon after though, even ensuring shallow cuts became too much for him. A hand was severed effortlessly from his wrist, followed by half of his tucked-away tail and a foot. The most painful one involved a pair of disks cutting across one another and carving a sizeable chunk of Cell's torso away.

"When I get the opening give it everything you've got!" managed Krillin.

Gohan was about to ask what opening Krillin spoke of when he suddenly leapt out of his meditative pose and jumped up into the golden cloud of oncoming disks. For one terrifying moment Gohan figured his oldest friend might be caught in the crossfire, but instead Krillin weaved between them and landed safely upon one. He was amongst the last of the Destructo Disks, surfing faster than he could fly at the rear of the armada.

Once the tempest had passed Gohan launched himself into the air. Blue ki surged into his hands as he focused his life's energy into a cupped sphere of light, pure and heavenly. He was determined not to let Krillin's shot go to waste. The man had used up his entirety in the horde of Destructo Disks, so where the second burst of energy came from Gohan had no idea.

As Krillin approached he set his disk on a curving current towards his foe. Faster than Cell could react his golden technique slashed right through his arm, sending the android reeling back in pain as Krillin jumped off his surfboard just in time to twist his body and fire away. With his defences low Cell was left helpless, his body being weak enough for Krillin's final Kamehameha to pierce straight through his abdomen and send him to his knees. Gohan's chance arrived.

"_KAME. . ." _the saiyan began.

He'd no idea how, but using the vast proportion of Krillin's own life energy, the Z-Fighter had managed to get him an opening. Cell would regenerate in time, yet for the time being he simply crouched on the ground and writhed in pain. Krillin began to flee the scene as Gohan's blast started reaching its peak.

"_HAME. . ._"

This was it – in spite of Cell's endless boasting and far greater power they might actually pull out the win. Gohan held nothing back; he poured all his power and more into the palms of his hand. Soon the entire desert became blanketed in a shifting azure blanket, fading back into shadow the moment it was fired.

"_HA!_"

Krillin had only just gotten free when the radius of the explosion fanned out to encompass a wide portion of the planet. If they'd been stood on Earth then Gohan had no doubt he would've destroyed it right there on the spot, but this larger and more durable planet managed to hold itself together, if only barely.

A denture clearly visible from space would scar the planet forevermore; on such a desolate and lifeless world though, Gohan judged it a small price to pay. He landed wobbly; his power inconsistencies sent him flat on his backside as he watched the area of land go up in a blue dome of fire with a smile.

Krillin barely managed to escape with his life. At the quickest speeds he could fly the man was caught suddenly by the aftershock, sending him spiralling out of control before hitting the ground, skidding towards Gohan on his chin. He was barely conscious, but alive all the same – that flight had used up the last of what he had left. If he used up any more to walk or even talk he risked dying, but that mattered little now that their enemy was gone. After their rest Gohan would carry him back to the ship using his own meagre supply of energy.

Before them a fantastical scene of fireworks engulfed the scorching desert; the saiyan sat back and watched it slowly dissipate with the half-conscious Krillin by his side. Nothing remained except a cloud of smoke and charred wasteland as evidence that there had ever even been a being as terrifying as a Shadow Dragon dwelling in this place.

Tentatively Gohan cast out his senses to confirm their victory beyond any doubt. He smiled as he sensed nothing from the haze of smoke and slouched back to the sand, satisfied that they'd emerged the victors in a no-win situation.

"You didn't think it would be that easy did you?"

Even Krillin reacted when Cell's calm, rich voice sounded from just two steps behind them. The android was back. He jumped forwards in single bound and stamped his foot hard on Krillin's chest, pinning him to the desert with just a single boot as he swatted Gohan away with a simple flick of his wrist.

Before the saiyan knew it he'd ascended back into his second transformation and hopped back to his feet. His heart was in ruin, beating so quickly that he could've mistaken it for the footfalls of an approaching stampede. What happened? Had Cell used the Instant Transmission to evade his initial move, or had he simply rode out the force of the explosion and managed to regenerate in no time at all? All Gohan knew was that Cell was still alive, and with both his and Krillin's power at their absolute lowest there was nothing they could do to stop him now.

Krillin struggled under the heel of the saiyan's nemesis as Cell towered over him with a look of disgust. He knew now that his time was over – the only thing that remained was to save his friend from the same tragic fate.

"_Run Gohan! Get out of here!_" he cried.

But Gohan stood rooted to the spot, paralysed in fear. Even if he wanted to do something there was hardly enough energy left in his body to put a scratch on Cell. All that saiyan drive and eagerness disappeared in an instant – with the horrifying reality facing him his human instincts took over.

Cell smirked as he looked over the struggling Z-Fighter beneath his foot. He'd been given a scare for sure, and with it being from the opening of one so weak his pride was stained. After flashing Gohan a wry glance he turned back to Krillin and addressed him in one word. "_Vermin_."

With his opinion of disdain made clear Cell charged ki into his right hand and blasted away without a second thought to the man beneath his shoe. Gohan was forced to shield his eyes, as the light from the technique blinded him momentarily.

The resulting explosion was so intense that it wiped Krillin off the face of the planet in an instant. He left the realm of the living in a cloud of obliterated, fleeting dust and wayward sand.

* * *

"_Krillin!_" Goku didn't even realise he'd turned Super Saiyan as he slammed an angry fist to the metal wall of the capsule. In the other screens people bowed their heads, looked away or gasped in shock; Bulma broke down into tears, having seen only rarely the terrifying scene of a close friend's death.

Goku meanwhile was livid – he got so mad in fact that Piccolo suspected he might smash the screen and the entire ship apart. His camera glitched and went into static under the pressure of a second transformation; Goku's aura trashed the main living area without him even realising. As Bulma whimpered quietly he went into even greater frustration.

"Come _on_ Gohan! Pull it together!" he yelled, brandishing his fists at the screen.

"That's enough Goku!" said Piccolo. "You know he can't win this!"

"He did it before and he can do it again!" Goku snapped in reply.

As the saiyan hero turned away from the battle in quietly suppressed anger the chat descended into a deathly silence. With Alpha still invading the line they kept their conversation brief and to the point, but everyone still listened when Bardock offered his thoughts.

"This – it's happening exactly as I saw, damn it!" he cursed.

As much as he'd been tolerable with Goku's father's prophetic ramblings, the death of a comrade this time tipped Piccolo over the edge. "Spare us the cryptic nonsense Bardock! Tell us what you saw! What happens next?"

"The two of them-"

"_Ah-ah-ahh-_" Alpha corrected. He spoke in a manner that allowed the others to picture him moving his finger back and forth, like a warning parent giving a lecture. "No spoilers Bardock! And don't look away now Goku! Not when it's just about to get so much more fun!"

* * *

When the veil of smoke blew back to reveal nothing left of his friend Gohan's senses left him instantly. He found himself trapped in surreal uncertainty, as though his sane self hovered over his body and could do nothing whatsoever to prevent his true mind from going haywire. He clenched his fists, bent his elbows, bowed his knees and looked at the ground, bloodshot eyes darting to and fro across the sand as he saw through a lens of grieving tears.

If he gritted his teeth any tighter Gohan knew he risked breaking them, but that hardly mattered compared to the vengeance he swore to enact. Cell grinned in delight when he saw Gohan struggling against his own power – it made the saiyan hate him even more than ever.

His daughter first and now his best friend – he'd been powerless to save either of them. They'd died while he still had breath within him to do something about it, and just the thought of it had tied up a knot inside him that was wound so tight that it snapped, letting all the unbound rage flow out of him in one giant burst. His aura flared out, shifting from its pearly white to night-sky black as he peered from it towards his opponent of choice – the man he'd vent every last iota of his hatred onto in the fight of his life.

"_You wanted to see me angry, right? . ._" he began. Gohan cast aside all inhibitions. He let the feeling consume him, as it gave him all the power he needed to ascend past his limits. Before he realised it the saiyan was beginning to transform. "_Well here I am. . ._"

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Hiii! It seems that Cell repeated the exact same mistake that Vegeta did towards him in actually letting his foe reach maximum capacity. It does kinda make sense though, I mean when you think about it Cell is made up of more saiyan than anything else, and saiyans love to prove themselves and test their limits more than anything. But he killed Krillin! NOOOOO! Come on though, who was actually surprised? There's no way Krillin could survive this battle, even if he did go out like a badass.

And of course, I brought back Gohan's raw fury for this fight. I know it's a little out of the blue because it's not expanded on at all after the Cell Games, but that just goes hand in hand with my own personal theory that I don't think I've ever outlined.

See, I always thought that the Mystic/Ultimate form that the Elder Kai gave him was designed to sort of 'purify' him as a fighter and keep back all his latent rage by offering him an alternative transformation to Super Saiyan. I'm not sure if anyone else saw it that way, but that's just my interpretation. This new transformation then would be him taking all the extra power that his anger as a SS2 offers him and transferring it into his Ultimate mode.

I'm not sure who it was by, but one of the first DBZ fanfictions I read took place in an alternate timeline like Future Trunks's, and it basically stipulated that if Gohan had no family ties and was brought up differently, then the rage he exhibited when he fights Cell would've led to him becoming the next villain. That was a massive influence on this, so I suppose I'll nickname this transformation 'Dark Gohan'.

I'm not sure if there'll be a picture this time because at this point I've only got a vague idea of what he looks like and I've no idea if I could pull it off. Rest assured that I'll try my best though.

This week the One Star isn't Alpha, The namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul, Ginyu the frog, Pui Pui, Garlic Junior or Raiti and Zaacro, it's blonde Launch! That's actually plausible right?

Oh yeah, guess we need another update:

Capsules

Capsule One: Goku. On his way to the one star.

Capsule Two: Gohan. Currently fighting the two star.

Capsule Three: Trunks, Goten and Uub. Back on Earth.

Capsule Four: Tien. Defeated, planet of the six star.

Capsule Five: Piccolo. Returning to Earth.

Capsule Six: Raditz. Heading towards Goku and the one star.

Capsule Seven: King Vegeta and Bardock. On their way to the six star to back up Tien.

Dragon Balls

One Star: Alpha? (or BLONDE LAUNCH!)

Two Star: Cell (In combat with 'Dark Gohan')

Three Star: Broly (deceased – killed by Vegeta)

Four Star: Frieza (deceased – killed by Raditz)

Five Star: Majin Buu (deceased – killed by Uub and Gotenks)

Six Star: Duodecimus (Alive)

Seven Star: Baby (deceased – killed by Piccolo)


	21. Chapter 21 Gohan's Rage

Chapter 21: Gohan's Rage

The smoke blew away to show a being none recognised initially as Gohan. The precise monitors of Bulma's plasma screens captured everything in accordance with whatever Alpha wanted to show them. He laughed as gasps went around the capsule frequency, for the man stood before them bore little or no resemblance to the pure, kind-hearted man they'd met as an innocent toddler.

A black aura, smoking in tracks of wispy dark mist, meandered about the desert. Surrounding him fires of the same coal colour flickered and raged, adding heat to the arid desert sun. Gohan's muscles expanded as his power in this new form reached levels beyond that of any single Z-Fighter. Gotenks, Piccolo - even his own father's energy signal was overtaken by the half-saiyan's rage induced transformation.

His canines sharpened into fangs as the windswept look of his black saiyan hair rushed back to a set of lean spikes protruding from his cranium. His anger was such that his pupils rolled back into his sockets; filling the white, bloodshot space a set of malicious, almost reptilian eyes, blinked towards Cell.

When he spoke Gohan's voice was recognisable, yet noticeably different. His tone had a hard edge to it that none had heard before, a low growl barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry Cell; I can't control this power very well yet." Gohan drew back his hands as he spoke and poured energy into his hands. The results were unimaginable; sparks of black energy bounced from his fingertips before a ball of the malevolent substance charged between his palms.

"I can't promise I won't destroy the planet along with us!" he cried.

Gohan formed the miniature black hole and struggled with a noise of effort to keep it under control. His hands trembled as he compressed it smaller and smaller, like a difficult tent refusing to fit back into its bag. Black light shone across the sand for miles and washed over the saiyan's menacing expression. Cell stood firm.

* * *

As they watched the technique in horror back on the capsules, Piccolo himself felt a snap in his mind as he began to feel the sheer scope of Gohan's energy even from half the universe away, but even that wasn't the only surprise in store for them. The pose Gohan adopted and the form of the energy – it was the signature move of Goku's family, twisted and malformed into some warped variant.

He had to check. "Goku, is that-"

"Yeah," lamented the saiyan. "It's the Kamehameha. You were right Piccolo, this could be bad."

* * *

Gohan finally managed to lock the beam under his control, and without warning he fired away towards the opponent who'd mocked his strength, trampled on his family and killed his friends for the last time. Shadows consumed the land as the beam of darkness quickened to its mark, and when it finally seemed to envelop Cell the bio-android used Goku's stolen move to teleport away.

He warped about a building high to the skies and watched beneath him as the single blast of raw power tore apart the surface. It took a whole ten seconds for light and warmth to return to the desert, during which Cell stared stricken at the ground where he'd once stood, utterly ravaged by the effect of Gohan's dark Kamehameha. The planet itself had a small portion flattened by the blast; if he'd aimed it any lower Gohan would've ended up destroying the world itself.

Sweating now, Cell turned back to where his rival had fired. Much to his shock Gohan no longer stood there. The saiyan ramped up to top speed as he approached from behind, driving his knee with a sickening crunch into the back of Cell's skull. The android keeled and lost his flight, but the attack wasn't over yet.

After sweeping him off his feet Goku's son unloaded a blitz of brutally violent moves against his aggressor. Just as he'd been subjected to, Gohan fired a flurry of hard, solid haymakers to the exposed torso of his opponent. He never said a word as he did so; he never even blinked. When Cell began to cry out in pain Gohan still refused to give up until his stamina began to dip, only then did he twirl and lash out with a rain of burning black Scatter Shots to finish the exchange.

Sandy mist settled from the tombstone of the fallen foe as Gohan hovered silently in the sky. When Cell recovered his breathing was almost regular and his wounds slowly regenerating, but the anger on his face was tangible.

* * *

Back at Capsule Headquarters Goten punched the air in triumph. He didn't share the regret that his father felt about Gohan resorting to such methods; all that mattered was that his brother was winning. "Alright! Gohan's got him on the ropes!" he cheered.

It was King Vegeta who next spoke, shaking his head. "No, he just got lucky is all. Cell didn't expect Gohan's power to raise so much. Your brother simply caught him by surprise."

"So which one of them is more powerful?" asked Piccolo, knowing the saiyan King's sensory skills were far superior to even his own.

Despite this, King Vegeta scratched his chin and shook his head. "I couldn't tell you. As far as I can tell there's almost no difference between them."

The chilling rasp of Alpha's mocking laughter sounded through the speakers once again. Unlike the others he enjoyed this immensely. It seemed more and more that he saw these battles as something akin to a television show. "Mmm, really? How fascinating. . . Ooh I can't _wait _to see what happens!"

Goku growled beneath his breath as he continued to watch the fight.

* * *

On the nameless desert world Cell dusted the grit from his body and drew back up to his impressive full height. He smiled and looked up at the hovering beast of Gohan, collected in cold, dark rage as black fires swarmed about his furiously burning aura. Cell tilted his head to one side and cracked it loudly. Intertwining his fingers and pressing out allowed him to do the same with his knuckles.

"That was a good warm-up," he said, trying his best to conceal his minor defeat. "Not bad Gohan, you're much better than I expected! I see now that Broly was a bad choice for wrath – you're a far more suitable candida-"

Cell never finished his sentence. A glowing fist from the burst-dashing Gohan churned into his stomach with force enough to explode his internal organs. They'd grow back in seconds, but until that time the bio-android had another attack to contend with; Gohan swung another right his way. This time Cell leaned away from it with expert timing, waiting as Gohan sprung forward with a rising kick that he was able to catch with some difficulty.

He caught Gohan by the shins and elbowed him twice in the side. The saiyan felt bones splinter – one or two ribs probably even broke – but he never made a noise that conveyed anything other than anger as he broke free, swung back around and engaged him again. This time he pummelled Cell with a flying uppercut before darting after him for a trade-off of blows.

One after another the two took it in turns to do their worst. Human eyes could miss the entire thing in a blink, but within the duration of microseconds the tides changed back and forth. Gohan was peppered with blasts, Cell took a smash to the groin; Gohan was swung around and then came back again by firing a beam from his falling position. Warp-lines scattered across the sky with every match of fists and feet, fading before a hundred had bloomed.

Cell's raw strength was unimaginable, just slipping ahead of Gohan's. His punches carried the weight of worlds behind them and never failed to damage the saiyan's muscles or internal organs. Gohan's speed though, was greater. Dozens of times he managed to slip past his opponent's guard, and countless more uses of it had saved his life when Cell's move were of the kind he could dodge.

Any kind of lapse in concentration could end the fight for either. If the focus and immersion of the angry saiyan faltered for the briefest of moments Cell would break his neck without hesitation. Likewise, the bio-android's larger body meant that if _he _left himself open he was prone to being overwhelmed by one of those devastating black Kamehameha waves his foe had displayed.

Such an evenly matched fight meant that the battle went nowhere for quite some time. The planet was bruised and battered and scorched and scarred from the fallout as they hurtled across land and air. Any blast rent the sky asunder, and every time Gohan landed the noxious black flames of his aura burnt the sand to a crisp. As he got more and more used to this new power the half-blood's intuition began to increase, but his rage never subsided.

He wanted – needed Cell to pay for all the horrible things he'd done. He refused to allow such a vile and wretched creature to inhabit even the same plain of existence as himself and those he loved. Goku had theorized that his anger made him lose sight of his objective; Gohan on the other hand figured the contrary. He was more fixated – more absorbed now in achieving his goal. Even if he lost himself to his wrath along the way it didn't matter. Revenge was his only incentive.

And so the fight went on, savage blows and energies from every colour of the spectrum ricocheting across the surface of the desert world. Fifteen minutes in regular time felt like months when moving close to the speed of light, but after a quarter of an hour elapsed it was Cell who was the first to shake up the match.

The android was clever; he knew that with the two so close in power, that even if he emerged victorious, there was no way he'd escape from this without being seriously damaged. The saiyan part of him relished the prospect of such a daunting foe, but for now the remaining mixture of human and namekian overruled it with logic. If he was hurt he wouldn't be able to fight Goku, Vegeta, Hyperion, Alpha or any of the other great warriors out there for at least a few days – it was too long to wait.

Deciding that he'd had enough, Cell took the next exchange in a different direction than his foe expected. As Gohan raged forward in a surge of darkened, furious energy, the creation stood his ground. He let the saiyan's fist hammer home right into his stomach, the ease of which gave Gohan reason to be wary. Unfortunately he didn't catch on to Cell's plan until it was already in motion.

The bio-android wrapped his arms snugly around Gohan's chest and squeezed tightly so that his arms were locked, immobile by his side. This served to only confuse the saiyan at first; in this position Cell couldn't do anything either – did he intend to drop down and crash them both into the ground? He realised Cell's true intentions once they started to go up instead.

Past the clouds they ascended as Gero's masterpiece laughed in that deep, confident voice down his ears. Being a product of Frieza meant that Cell could survive in the depths of space where the spawn of a saiyan and a human could not. Gohan struggled against his hold as it began to get cold. They rose faster than he liked; soon they were way above the clouds and into sub-zero temperatures, but Cell's greater physical strength meant that no amount of struggling prevented the inevitable.

Through the stratosphere Cell and Gohan rushed as the vacuum of space consumed them. With no gravity they floated, and Cell's laugh raised an octave when his captive gasped for air. Gohan choked, wheezing for a number of slow, agonising seconds until finally he stopped.

The saiyan's eyes closed, his muscles relaxed and his rasping ceased. With a smirk Cell released his lifeless body into the endless darkness. He laughed and laughed to himself, power fizzing into his fingertips as he savoured his victory against his biggest adversary. With his feud against Gohan out of the way – dispatched of so easily – he could concentrate on frying the bigger fish. Vegeta was next on his list, then Goku; then to claim his title as the most powerful of them all he'd beat Alpha.

"Gotcha."

Cell's eyes widened his fear and a visible bead of sweat trickled down his head as the voice of Gohan echoed through the void. If he was surprised then, it was nothing compared to his expression when he turned to the recovering, presumably dead body of the saiyan, who lurched back into a rush and met him with a powerful punch to the jaw.

Then Gohan's knee took residence in Cell's stomach; pain from the resulting tear of destroyed muscle and crack of countless bones coursed through the bio-android's body as the saiyan hybrid dished out his deadliest combination with flawless accuracy. When he'd finished, the man seized the dazed Cell by the ankle and swung him round and round over his head. His eyes darted around the emptiness of space for some kind of target; he found one quickly and released without pause for thought.

The power of Gohan's throw sent Cell hurtling into the depths of the planet's smaller sun. He witnessed his opponent disappear in a fiery flash when the gaseous, roaring hot star swallowed him whole, sucking the android into its bowels like a living being devouring its next insignificant meal. After the initial burst of energy the sun did nothing, having seemingly obliterated the reborn monster, but Gohan knew better than to trust it. He waited a full thirty seconds until the inevitable happened.

A tiny glimmer of ki was soon followed by the biggest explosion Gohan had ever seen as the gas giant found itself being blown apart from the inside. Tongues of orange and red span across space and descended like a fiery shower upon the saiyan, liquid-like fragments that scalded with supernova heats to the touch. At the core of the eruption was of course Cell, contentedly glowing crimson from the aftermath of his supposed demise.

He faded back to his sickly shade of lime green as he glided out of the storm, raging to its finale as the last gobs of flame died in space. He didn't seem annoyed or even slightly irritated; Cell looked positively pleased with the new development. The trace hint of a smile wrinkled his cheeks, as though he was happy that he was able to take this fight seriously.

"You can survive in space now then?" he asked. "How did you manage that? Some new form of training I assume – or one of Bulma's gadgets?"

In truth Gohan _did _have the space-enabling, gravity-altering device, but it was down on Capsule Two with the rest of his things. He shook his head and replied, "That's not it at all. Don't get me wrong, I was as surprised as you were, but it's this new form. It looks like it allowed me to ascend past my human and saiyan limitations."

Cell beamed and clapped his hands. "Excellent Gohan, very interesting! I'd expect nothing less from you! So, are you even mortal anymore? Have you joined my kind and I in everlasting life?"

"Who knows?" said Gohan with a shrug. "None of that matters anyway. All I know is that this form was made for destroying you, which shouldn't take me too long now. You're weakened after that last round – you won't be able to keep up with me anymore."

"Is that a fact?" Cell suddenly pressed two fingers to his forehead.

Unsure whether or not he was about to use Instant Transmission or a Special Beam Cannon, Gohan prepared himself for either one. The moment the fading lines of a light-speed jump rushed from Cell's body Gohan turned around and drove a punch at what appeared to be nothing but air. Sure enough, the moment his strike reached the pinnacle of its momentum the android appeared in a flash.

Gohan followed through on his attack with a two-handed, downward smash that set Cell on a course back down for the planet, and as he fell the saiyan chased him. Still recovering from Gohan's dizzying blow meant that Cell was powerless to stop the subsequent thousand that slammed into him, every fist pronounced by a vengeful scream. As the two hurtled back into the planet's atmosphere Gohan altered his speed and continued; he didn't stop until they neared the ground, where he pulled up and began to charge energy.

The absence of one of its suns meant that the planet found itself plunged into a sudden dusky state of near-night. With it, the temperature had fallen, but Gohan's aura of a dark inferno quickly brought it back up to a furnace.

Whilst Cell hit the ground in a plume of sand the saiyan retreated back to the air – a spot thirty feet high where he could comfortably charge. He channelled his anger, pouring every ounce of his hate-fuelled black energy into the palms of his cupped hands. His arms bulged and his veins throbbed; the dark Kamehameha once again took its toll on him as his hands shuddered, vibrating against the overwhelming destructive power that he barely managed to maintain.

"_VOID. . ._" he began. As Cell burst from the desert, bowed over and gasping for breath, Gohan pressed together his palms to solidify the blast. Flames burst from the oversized sphere as his opponent struggled to his feet, but he'd never make it in time. The saiyan gave a wry snigger as he realised he'd won – this attack would finish things for good.

"_KA. . . MAYY. . .HAA. . . MAYY. . ._" For the first time in the fight Cell looked scared; he knew just as well as his foe that if that attack made a direct hit he'd be gone for sure.

When Gohan began the last syllable though, a catastrophe befell him. The final sound required from the technique had only just started to escape his lips when the pool of demonic energy in his hands exploded prematurely. Cell was forced to shield his eyes as the saiyan's own attack blasted him out of the sky and threw him into his own sandy burial.

Ten seconds passed. Cell had just about managed to catch his breath and straighten himself out before Gohan leapt from the surface of the desert. His hostile, impatient expression was covered in ash and soot, and when he opened his mouth to speak a lungful of black smoke was first coughed out instead.

What happened was obvious to all who watched: Gohan had been unable to control the technique. Just when he thought he had the Void Kamehameha pinned down, his guard slipped for just a brief instant, and in being as fragile as dynamite the beam exploded in his hands. Being in such a new transformation – relying on such an alien feeling to draw out its power – had made him lose control.

Right when Gohan had seized the upper-hand one slight lapse of focus had put him right back to square one. He'd grown overconfident, and in doing so, the damage he'd done to himself had put them both firmly back on equal footing.

In spite of his foe's rookie error though, Cell remained pleased. He chuckled and crossed his arms as Gohan dusted the sand from his orange outfit. The fact that he'd survived was simply the icing on the cake; what pleased him most was the saiyan's total dependence on his rage. He'd utterly given in to his anger, and it made him far stronger just as the android predicted. Here was an enemy he could test his limits on.

"Like I said before, it appears Broly was the wrong choice for the Dragon of Wrath. What power you could've had Gohan – with the Three Star Ball you could have strength beyond your wildest dreams. Me, your father – even Alpha would be forced to bow at your knees."

Silence came upon Gohan; for a while it seemed he found the offer tempting. Then, "I've got no interest in that whatsoever," he said.

"Come on Gohan," Cell replied with a grin. "You can't fool me. We're the same you and I, we just came into this world under different circumstances. You can pretend to be one of the good guys all you want, but you're just kidding yourself."

Now it was Gohan's turn to smile. He closed his eyes and nodded his head slowly, as if the accusation seemed enlightening – or even amusing to him. He opened them after a few seconds and quickly dropped into a combat stance, forcing Cell to fall into his own.

"You're right," he said eventually. "I'm not one of them. . . This power I have, it's the polar opposite of someone like my dad's or Hyperion's. My father knows it, Piccolo knows it – most of them probably do. In fact it's closer to that of the scum we've rid the universe of for all these years."

At this Cell seemed delighted; he was making progress. Perhaps with Gohan on his side taking down the rest would be easier.

"But," continued the saiyan, "it's what I choose to do with it that counts. You can stand there and call me out on what I am, but in the end it doesn't matter whether I'm a saiyan or a human or a demon or whatever you want to call me." Anger from the man served to ignite another stove of black flames to consume him. "I'm going to use this power to destroy you and everything like you! That's good enough for them, and it's good enough for me!"

Cell looked about to reply before a flurry of menacing energy spheres marked their conversation as over. He swerved to dodge the tirade and ran straight into another angry exchange between himself and the saiyan warrior.

Whether or not his friends and family would be proud of his latest confession Gohan had no idea. Of course, he hadn't the slightest inkling that they _were _watching through monitors in their respective rooms. They were proud of him, and they waited patiently for their hero to beat his opponent and come home safely. In truth Gohan had no idea whether he could do that anymore, even despite his bold words and unrivalled determination.

When he met Cell's fists again the saiyan knew that he'd lost his advantage completely. He stepped up his game to its maximum by dishing out only his most complex manoeuvres that he'd saved until now, but so did Cell. Gohan fired off a trio of consecutive punches, finalising his assault with a wheeling reverse bicycle kick with his left heel as the impact point.

It was a skilful move, one which should've been impossible to evade even at their level and one which would've easily taken the head off a regular human being. The three punches met their mark – the first winded him, the second glanced off his shoulder, and the other met Cell's exposed jaw to catch him off guard. When it came to the final strike though, the bio-android somehow managed to dash away from the site of attack and come back down with an elbow to Gohan's back.

Feigning injury, Gohan fell to the floor, and when Cell towered over him he quickly sprung back into a kick to jumpstart the fight again. As the android leapt up to the skies the saiyan sent a Masenko wave after him, and when that was dodged the two once again began their repetition of taking to the air and slamming into one another at high speeds.

Every exchange was met with at least a dozen punches, but to the untrained eye, streams of energy simply collided against one another with an almighty crash in the sky before rebounding and striking again. With every other trade of punches and every deflection of compressed energy beams the tide was switched yet again. Before long blood flowed like a river from Gohan's jaw, nose, ears and eyes, matched with bruises from his pummelling and a nasty wound in his side where one of Cell's blasts had burned off a chunk of flesh.

The android on the other hand could regenerate any injuries, but thankfully, fatigue and a loss of energy was impossible to compensate for. Unfortunately Majin Buu was not amongst the beings he harboured DNA from. He recovered quicker than most, but his abnormal healing factor simply could not keep up with the lightning speeds at which the pair of them fought; either he hadn't trained it or it was constantly at a fixed level. Either way, Gohan kept it in mind as the two rushed into battle once again.

* * *

Bulma's tears had vanished back on Earth. Now she joined Goku, Trunks and Goten in cheering wildly at the monitor, screaming for Gohan to win even when all seemed up in the air. Desperately they willed for a victory; somehow in their naïve perception of the world they seemed to believe Gohan could hear them from so far away, and that their encouragement would give him the strength he needed.

Piccolo, Bardock and the saiyan king stood motionless, studying the battle intently to watch for some kind of an opportunity. It was useless; every flaw they spotted in Cell's defence Gohan picked up on a moment before they did, and any mistakes Gohan made were exploited by the bio-android before they realised he was open.

Only one thing remained certain: this battle would soon be over. With every attack both Gohan and Cell weakened; every well placed energy blast sapped them of their precious ki. One way or another, the climax to this fight was close at hand. The others could only watch and pray that their team's warrior emerged the winner.

"He can't keep this up for much longer," said Bardock, his voice cold and weary.

Goten suddenly whirled around to the corresponding monitor and pointed his fist at the saiyan's screen. As much as he tried to put on a brave face the signs were obvious; his hand was shaking, and a glaze of tears glistened over his eyes. "Shut up, buzz-kill!" he ordered. "Gohan could keep this up all day if he wanted to! Cell doesn't stand a chance!"

"I'm sorry you have to hear this but neither one of them is winning! I've seen this already, it-"

"It doesn't matter what you've seen or haven't seen!" The young saiyan cut off his grandfather's comment before Alpha could. "Gohan changed the future once already, after your time and before mine. If he did it once he can do it again!"

"You should listen to Bardock's words – you don't need foresight to see that the odds of this fight going in Gohan's favour are slim at best," said King Vegeta.

In the foreground of the screens a thunderclap marked a particularly violent clash, followed by the hiss of smoke and a brief shot of Gohan and Cell continuing their duel. Their fight had grown so intense that the shadowed desert had begun to crumble around them. Fault lines cracked into gaping openings as entire miles of solid earth disintegrated at their feet.

Goten looked about to retort, but it seemed Trunks wanted his own turn to defy his grandfather.

"Gohan's stronger than any of us at this point," he observed. "If anyone can do this then he can."

A voice cut like a blade through the chatter; Alpha's chilling words never failed to make one shudder. "Sshh, _sshhh! _Quiet down! Quiet down!" He let off a girlish giggle in delight. "It's reaching the finale!"

* * *

Atop a lone pillar of just a few square metres, fists met in flames as Gohan and Cell began their final exchange. Their small spit of land was the only thing for miles that hadn't collapsed or been blown up; their energy stripped and broke down everything around them. When their own tiny column finally buckled in on itself neither noticed. They continued their fight in total abandon, blows and destructive spheres populating every inch of the open air.

The two separated and crashed into one another, the force of which shook the planet to its very core. Raging flames black as night marked every ignition of Gohan's attacks, and likewise the Super Saiyan-esque aura from Cell signified his own.

After flying across half the planet their fight took them to another locale where flat land was in abundance. Both fighters preferred the solid ground, though the ferocity of their battle meant that any surface they met was promptly destroyed shortly after. They used the land sparingly then. After darting under a punch Gohan transitioned to a complex sequence of swift haymakers, countered by an angered Cell driving his elbow square into the saiyan's jaw.

Gohan smiled, his lips bloodied, and spat out a molar. Cell's normally cool exterior had heated into anger; well that was alright, he still had his own reserves of unrivalled fury. He roared as he launched forwards into his enemy, ploughing his fist straight into Cell's face as the creature's flying kick surged into his chest.

The impact of the attacks sent both fighters flying in opposite directions. Miles they soared through open air, until simultaneously they flipped back into stance, flared out their energy and set off at their fastest speeds back to their adversaries. Neither would've guessed that the exact same event would happen again, though a run-up of miles instead of yards sent them ricocheting far further back.

High-speed jousting forced the two of them to slam into one another with equally devastating punches. A crash louder than ever accompanied their blows, as both fighters found themselves thrown back to the very edges of the planet itself. When he finally regained movement Gohan saw above him the black eternity of space.

He remained just inside the planet's atmosphere; looking down he could see the perpetual darkness and devastation that he'd wrought upon the nameless world, and looking ahead he could actually see its broad curvature like an upside-down bowl. Standing opposite to him, on the other side of the sky, Gohan knew that Cell lay in wait. He couldn't see that far, but he could feel the vile energy tainting the atmosphere.

Here was where it all ended; Gohan suspected that Cell knew it just as well as he did. If they flew at each other again the results would be the same – they'd only be throwing themselves deeper out into space. Only one course of action remained, and as he saw a pinprick of blue on the horizon the saiyan knew it was do or die.

"_VOID,_" he began. A black globe the size of a volleyball blazed into the space between his hands as Gohan pulled back his arms into a familiar stance. He only hoped he could keep it under control this time.

"_KKAAA_-" Again the saiyan's hands shook under the enormous strain of the technique. Velvety black light quilted the planet below into total pitch darkness, but way over the horizon Cell's regular strain of the technique made an equally formidable field of blue across the ruinous desert.

"-_MAAAY-_" Not a fraction of an instant was wasted as Gohan finally compressed the sphere into a small ball. The light crept from the cracks in his fingertips, power rising as he brought it to its prime.

"_-HAAA-_" The saiyan's aura suddenly exploded into an even broader maelstrom of flames. Twisted black tongues coursed around his body, filling the space around him until the collateral damage began to induce destruction on the world below. The remainder of the planet's surface crumbled, leaving only a featureless shell – the dishevelled husk of a once-desert world.

"_-MAAAAYY-_" Finally Gohan opened his palms, swelling the globe only slightly for all warriors watching to see. The technique swirled, throbbing and convulsing like a handheld black hole. Staring straight into the nebula of it pained the eyes, yet it didn't last long as Gohan screamed and fired away. This time his control was flawless. Unfortunately, so too was Cell's. Their final syllables were uttered in synchronism.

"_HAAAAA!_" Two beams, one black and one blue, tore apart the sky and the world beneath as they homed towards their targets. When the pair of them met the spectacle was like nothing any Z-Fighter had ever witnessed; they were beams of such power that even by themselves they could be considered godlike entities to those with any kind of energy sensitivity.

The impact was so shocking that the second sun was thrown out of orbit around the ravaged planet they duelled above. No natural light illuminated the catastrophe; only shifting shades of blue and black lit up the site of devastation, playing off the screaming expressions of their masters.

Despite the sudden shock of the first contact, the beams held in struggle. They roared against one another overhead, their titanic size and intensity flaying spare chunks of rocks and motes of dust from the planet below. As they battled against one another like two rival storms both fighters tried in a futile effort to win over the clash. Arms shaking, hearts pounding, veins pulsating, they steadily began to pour every last vestige of power into their attacks.

Unsurprisingly nearby galaxies began to feel the effect of the two techniques. Across a sizeable portion of the universe, planets with civilised life had their denizens pointing in wonder to the glowing black and blue skies as others became fraught with fear at the rumbling that claimed them.

No matter how hard either warrior tried the beams stayed put. There were no visible movements or dramatic turnarounds in dominance; aside from a few inches either way, the Kamehameha and the Void Kamehameha remained perfectly in place, splaying excess energy in blazing fireworks all across the sky. Amazingly, both beams had identical amounts of energy poured into them.

Gohan thought back to the first time this happened, when he'd first fought Cell and been ordered to damn everything else and throw every last ounce of power into his beam in one blow. It seemed the only like the only way to win at this rate, so the saiyan braced himself and prepared to repeat history. Only, Cell learned from his mistakes.

At the exact same moment both saiyan-human hybrid and bio-android unleashed everything. Enormous surges of blue and black raced down the twin Kamehameha waves like a clot of oil pushed through a hose. The collision this time was too much for the clash to hold. The bridge between them erupted, bringing with it an explosion unlike anything Gohan had ever experienced before.

Being sucked dry forced Gohan's transformation out of him as the sheen of black and blue destructive energy raced towards him. Perhaps he would've escaped if the blast hadn't detonated the planet below them; its core was sparked aflame, set off like a giant nuclear bomb to join the overwhelming force rushing for the saiyan.

Continents of rock and molten spew joined the explosion, and when it finally washed over Gohan his only solace was that his enemy had also been caught in the galactic explosion.

He descended into bliss, madness vanishing, contented in his efforts as he felt Cell's presence dissipate in the undertow. He lamented that he'd have no further part in this war, but felt pleased that he'd at least fulfilled his role and avenged those he cared for. With one last breath, Gohan smiled and closed his eyes.

_Pan, Krillin. . . See you soon._

* * *

"_GOHAN!_" As space dust and rock fragments filled the screen Goku's last ray of hope blinked out of existence. His balance faltered, forcing him to drop to his knees. He looked away from the screen; through it he could hear the stricken cries from his shocked comrades, but looking just looking at their faces was too much for him.

Then Alpha started to laugh.

Hateful, malicious snickering buzzed in static through the monitor as Alpha clapped, thoroughly entertained by the battle's outcome. "And it looks like a draw! Well that was exciting wasn't it?" he quizzed. When no reply came he repeated, "wasn't it?"

"_You. . ._" Suddenly Goku found himself back on his feet. He glimpsed the other fighters in the smaller screens, startled by his sudden transformation to the very pinnacle of his power. Electric blue bolts streaked in pillars around him, orange fur coating his body as sparks sprung from the machinery of Capsule One. His camera began to stutter in static, but through the hazy lines of black and grey the others could still make out his words and actions.

"This ends _now_," he ordered. With one swift movement of his tail Goku snatched Bulma's device from the sofa and strapped it to his wrist. He spoke next through gritted teeth, "I'm coming for you Alpha. . . No one puts my son through that and gets away with it."

"Oh? I thought I said approach by ship only?" said Alpha.

"I'm sick of your rules – when I'm finished with you there'll be no one left to enforce them."

If the Shadow Dragon wasn't frightened by the low, menacing tone of the Super Saiyan 5 coupled with his inhuman power and physique then the others figured he must've truly been insane. Through her sobbing even Bulma looked away in fright. She'd seen Goku mad before, but this level was a rarity.

Next to her though, Goten looked just as pumped as his father. The saiyan seized his own gravity enhancer and strapped it on. "I'm coming too!" he announced through tears.

"No you're not!" cried Goku. In his outburst he loosed a cannon of energy of his right hand, tearing a hole right through the interior of the ship and exposing it to the vastness of empty space beyond. Flying himself there would be quicker than going by ship. He stepped toward the ledge and cast one last glance back to the screen.

"I don't care what you say! I can't just sit here after seeing that!" insisted Goten.

"I am your father and you _will _listen to me!" Goku thundered, his wrath being such that even _his_ own father recoiled at the sight. "You're needed on Earth, and this is _my _fight."

The pure saiyan's anger seemed to silence his son, but one person who refused to shut up was Alpha, his voice still bemused and half-giggling through the speakers. "You're coming to fight me then? Awww, that's cute. I look forward to it!"

Goku's frown hardened, the yellow shine of his eyes intensifying as he prepared to take off. "I'll see you soon Alpha."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: O.O Geez, Goku is _pissed! _Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm not sure if I've ever actually written an angry Goku before. I mean he's been sad and/or frustrated when people died in AF, but this wound up? I can't think of any moments. Anyway Goku made his proper fighting debut in TROSAT Saga in chapter twenty eight, so thankfully it should be a little sooner in this one.

And of course, Gohan died :( But at least he took Cell with him. Was all very dramatic wasn't it? I mean they took out a SUN like it was nothing! Will Gohan play any other part in the series? It's possible, but I haven't actually set anything for him in stone yet so don't take that as a hint – if he is involved it'll be minor. I really did try and draw him but like I predicted, it was a bit too tricky for me. I'll definitely have another go at it somewhere down the line when I'm not so swamped with work, just don't expect anything fantastic.

I swear if someone told me when I started AF in August 09 I'd be writing _three pages _for the build-up and clash of a Kamehameha I would've called them insane. Those sections are virtually the death of me – soooo hard to do. It's like "KAAA" (PARAGRAPH) "MAAAAY" (PARAGRAPH) etcetera etcetera, ONE FOR EVERY SYLLABLE! There's only so much I can do to describe a damn beam! XD

Aaaanyway. Turned twenty this week. :O I know right? Man that was a big shock. Twenty! Woke up and I was all 'when did I stop being a child?' Ah well, guess I'll just have to accept that I'll never grow out of jumping on rocks and swinging from tress. . . Hey I just figured out why I spent Valentine's Day alone!

This time the One Star isn't Alpha, the namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul, Ginyu the frog, Pui Pui, Garlic Junior, Raiti and Zaacro or blonde Launch – I got a new one! Mercenary Tao! Stay safe guys, thanks for reading as usual :D


	22. Chapter 22 A Bold Request

Chapter 22: A Bold Request

For a whole minute the fighters sat in silence, staring blankly at Goku's screen. He'd rocketed from the ship and vanished in a blink, leaving the capsule's living room exposed to the ravaging void of space through the hole he'd ripped in the wall. Papers flew about the room, warning alarms flashed red, and after a few moments the bolted down couch was torn from the floor and hurled out into the open.

Normally that would've been the point where Gohan sighed and palmed his face or Krillin made a bad joke. Now they were gone; only wordless grief replaced them. Bored now that his entertainment had left, Alpha seemed to have disconnected himself the moment Goku disappeared, leaving the fighters with nothing but sorrow.

"Did he really have to break the ship? . ." muttered Bulma.

"Under the circumstances we're lucky he didn't blow up a planet," said Piccolo. "But we can't lose hope. There's only one Shadow Dragon left save for Alpha, and if I know Goku he won't let him get away with what he's done."

Bulma forced a smile and nodded weakly. Piccolo was right: Goku always came through for them in the end. Whether it was a burst of newfound power or a surprisingly cunning plan he always pulled something out of the bag.

"Are you just saying that? Or do you really mean it?" asked Bardock suddenly. The question caught many off guard; Piccolo recoiled as the saiyan continued. "You're the only one of us – save for Kakarot - who's seen Alpha up close. Tell us honestly Piccolo, do you really think he can beat something like that? If Vegeta senior here is to be believed then his power is unlike anything we've seen before."

Piccolo grumbled and looked at the ground. For the first time since the war began Bulma suddenly felt scared. The namekian's hesitance alone confirmed that he had his doubts. Goku had always been able to win no matter the enemy, but this time even one of his oldest friends questioned his ability. Plenty of people had died already – good people with power enough to defend themselves. If Vegeta died facing Broly then what chance did Goku have against the monster who resurrected him?

"No," Piccolo finally admitted. He looked back up at the camera and shook his head. "I'm not sure. Realistically speaking he doesn't stand a chance, but Goku doesn't deal in 'realistically'. . . But even if he's grown more powerful since their first encounter I don't know if it'll be enough. Even at his fullest Alpha swatted him aside like he was barely a challenge at all.

"It's not uncommon for our enemies to be one step ahead of us," he went on, "but with Alpha, he's more like five steps ahead. Damn it!" Piccolo made a guttural noise as he pounded a small crater into the wall. "If only we still had Vegeta, or Raditz. . . Or Gohan. . . I'm not sure Goku can do this on his own, and without those three fusion is off the table."

Goten suddenly decided to speak up, albeit foolishly. "Just wait! Dad will beat him no problem!"

"That's what you said about Gohan! And look what happened to him!" roared the namekian. "None of us are indestructible Goten, you'd better accept that and quit being so naïve or you'll end up joining him!"

Too soon: Goten scrunched up his face and bit down hard on his lower lip as Bulma sobbed into a handkerchief. It was uncalled for; Piccolo regretted his words the moment he'd spoken them, but Goten's childish optimism annoyed him so soon after a loss. He wasn't wrong though; the namekian was simply trying to protect the son of his friend, believing that Goten _would _be killed if he continued to think how he did.

"Speaking of Raditz," offered Trunks, carefully changing the subject. "Have we heard anything back from him yet?"

"No. His ship disappeared from our radars a while back. It must've been destroyed during his battle. . ." said Bulma.

"But he's alive, like I said. He isn't in the best condition, but he could make it. The next few days will be critical for him now," said the King.

Ever since her father-in-law's statement about Vegeta being alive Bulma had begun to distrust the saiyan's supposed clairvoyance. It didn't seem like either saiyan had made it, but even despite all the evidence of their deaths the king remained adamant that they'd survived. Either way, it was of little consequence now.

"We can't hold our breath for Raditz. I'm glad that he's alive but without a ship there's no way for him to get back to this war, and if his wounds are as bad as you described then he might not be able to fight," said Piccolo.

"Then you'll have to pray that Bardock and I can hold our own over here. We should be arriving at the Six Star soon enough."

"How long?"

"Three days, maybe less."

"Keep us posted."

"We will, in the meantime we'll have to get back to our training," said the King.

"Don't push it too far. You'll need to be well rested to fight a Shadow Dragon, trust me."

"Right."

With that, the call disbanded. Z-Fighters logged off and returned to their grief and exercise routines, leaving Trunks, Goten and Bulma alone in the claustrophobic command centre. Having no reason to be there Bulma got to her feet and left, heels clacking down the polished silver tiles of Capsule Corporation headquarters.

The saiyans followed in tow, neither wanting to be the first to speak. From the grim look on his face Goten was still annoyed by Piccolo's berating of him, even if he understood why it had to be done.

Trunks meanwhile pondered away. It had only been brief, but he'd glimpsed something during the call. On his grandfather's right hand he could've sworn that he saw a flash of one of those rings. He and Goten wore theirs constantly now – the yellow and green fusion devices that allowed them to merge at any time. They were hardly stylish, but for practicality they could look no further.

King Vegeta's had been different in colour and shape, but the design was undeniably similar. Trunks was willing to bet that Bardock also had one that was near-identical. If that was the case then Kibito-Kai had paid them a visit and dropped off the rings. He'd never seen either of them in battle, but he supposed the fusion of their father's fathers was a total powerhouse.

Bulma's sigh suddenly broke the silence. She stopped in her tracks and placed two painted fingers to her lips. "I guess I'll have to tell Videl and Chi-Chi. . ." she lamented. Last time had been horrible; Videl had cried for hours over the loss of her little girl. Pan had voluntarily gone into battle and they all knew the risks, but that didn't make it any less painful, especially when she'd gone against the will of her parents.

"You don't have to do that. I'll tell them," said Goten bravely. "It won't exactly be easy, especially for Videl, but it's my responsibility now; it's my family. You go take a rest Bulma. You look exhausted."

Bulma scoffed, "Geez, thanks. Remind me why you're so popular with the girls again?"

"I think it's the hair."

* * *

Trunks merely sat back in the foreground whilst Goten delivered the news to his family, blue eyes scanning the room in awkward silence. Anything to distract him from the cries of Videl and Chi-Chi would suffice.

Not that it did him much good; Goku's humble little home was virtually a shrine to all those he cared for, reminding him that half of them were gone. Photos of the saiyans decorated units against the room's beige walls. Pan as a youngster made him turn away, straight into a picture of Gohan at an even younger age.

There were others too. Photos of Krillin and Goku in their youth with the Turtle Hermit made him avert his eyes as well. During his brief stay on Earth three years even Raditz had a photograph mounted on the coffee table. Trunks knew his life hung in the balance, but the way his grandfather spoke made him wonder whether Goku's brother would live.

Vegeta was there too; his own father who'd been lost to the eternity of space, and of course Goku himself. If Piccolo was to believed then their treasured saviour – their paragon of justice – was currently heading straight towards his doom. In his story to his family Goten conveniently left out the part where the namekian had voiced his scepticism, and Trunks knew why in an instant: even despite his criticism, Goten didn't believe him in the slightest.

Trunks hardly blamed him though. With a father who'd saved Earth and the galaxy more times than he could count on both hands it was difficult to accept that he might lose a fight.

Before long the simmering of chicken soup began to bubble and hiss from the stove, joined quickly by the smell burnt toast; they'd interrupted the family in the midst of making dinner. Respectfully Trunks crossed the room and turned everything off. He doubted anyone would feel like eating, but even so he prepared the plates and dished out the food. When offered, he helped himself to a bowl of soup. The bitter taste in his mouth prevented him appreciating the savoury meal.

Chi-Chi, being well-versed in losing family, recovered first. She put on a scowl and straightened up, knowing she had to be strong and hold down the fort whilst her relatives took a break in the afterlife.

"So what about Goku?" she asked after a time, her voice quaking. "How did he take it?"

Goten settled down into the chair beside his friend and tore off a piece of blackened toast. He sighed and shook his head. "About as well as you might expect. Dad ripped open the ship in a rage and headed off to fight Alpha personally."

"Has he reached him yet?" Chi-Chi brought up a fist as it suddenly occurred to Trunks that she wanted revenge just as much as her husband did.

"No, it might be a while before he does, we don't know. One thing's for sure, we'll know it when those two start fighting."

"Hell, I think the whole universe will," said Trunks.

"True."

Once things were settled the two half-saiyans wasted no time in heading out. From familiarity they knew that the best thing they could do now was to leave the two women alone to grieve. Friends helped, but after the initial shock it was always best to give time for them to reflect and take it all in.

After blasting off from the mountains Trunks and Goten angled themselves towards West City, to over where Krillin lived. The next people to break the news to would have to be Eighteen and Marron, the dead monk's wife and daughter. They streamed through clouds in silence; to talk seemed like an insult, a form of disrespect to the fallen.

When they thought about it, this could end up being the closest thing to a funeral Gohan and Krillin would ever get to have. If Alpha had his way there'd be no one to mourn them. Upon thinking this, Trunks suddenly began to wonder _what_ exactly Alpha planned to do once he beat the Z-Fighters. Most of their adversaries before had wanted some varying shade of world domination or destruction, but Alpha didn't seem to fit the bill for either.

Their foe was a manic psychopath obsessed with making friction and turning heartbreak into a subject of his entertainment. Along those lines, Trunks supposed he might segregate the entire universe into different zones and pit the most powerful fighters from across the galaxy against each other just to win enough food to get by. That seemed like his thing, although Trunks didn't doubt that Alpha considered the great tour he'd sent the Z-Fighters on to be his true magnum opus.

"Trunks!"

Goten's sudden shout forced the prince's son to look his way, and once he snapped out of his meditative stupor Trunks realised why the saiyan had called him. It was faint – barely on the periphery of their senses, but the distinct mark of Uub's pitifully low power signature hung over a small mountain district to the east. The pair banked his way to tell him the news, and as they did Trunks wondered why exactly he was out there.

Uub had gone off to rally the world leaders and organise their evacuation; what was he doing standing atop a mountain in the middle of nowhere? Curious, Trunks and Goten fell into a dive back beneath the clouds. Moisture soaked their hair, clothes and tails as they plummeted, but a quick burst of power instantly dried them before they flipped gracefully to the ground.

The young man sat alone at the mountain's peak, suspended deep in meditation with no one around for miles upon end. Uub didn't seem to realise that though, as he failed even to notice the two saiyans until Goten tapped him on his shoulder. He lurched up in fright for a moment before he whirled around and recognised his visitors.

"Hey," he gasped. "Sorry about that. My senses have sucked since. . . You know."

"Don't worry about it." Trunks smiled and looked about the clearing. Hard, brown rocks made up the surface, and stray boulders were scattered about the summit here and there. A thin layer of mist coated the air thanks to the altitude, and at the cliff's edge the Flying Nimbus floated about by itself. Trunks knew that Goku, Gohan and Goten had long since stopped using it, down to the fact that they could fly faster than it could. The same no longer held true for Uub.

"Nice place you got here, but aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?" asked Goten.

"Oh yeah, I finished that already. I spoke to Mr. Satan and a bunch of presidents and prime ministers; it didn't take too long with Instant Transmission. Heh, once they see the Kamehameha they're all ears, we're ready for an evacuation whenever we can find a planet," said Uub. He looked pleased with the work he'd done, but when his news gained only a vague smile from both he tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong guys?"

A matter of seconds passed like hours for the two saiyans. Goten looked about to open his mouth to speak, though was quickly silenced by Trunks throwing an arm across his shoulder. He knew it pained Goten immensely to acknowledge that his brother was gone. The saiyan had already taken the responsibility to tell his own family; Trunks could handle the rest.

". . . Gohan and Krillin are dead," he began. Uub's expression dropped into one of horror before he continued. "Cell got the better of Krillin after his attack failed. . . Then Gohan went all out. When their attacks collided the explosion blew up the planet beneath them. It took both of them out along with it."

"No way. . ." The youth turned back to the empty cliff face and stared out, fists clenched. "Not Gohan; and Krillin as well. Damn! How many more do I have to see die while I can't do a thing to prevent it?"

"It's no one's fault Uub. Not one of us – not even if you were at full strength – none of us would've been of any use in that fight. Cell was on another level. And they were too far away for us to sense; you wouldn't have been able to transmit there anyway."

"Still doesn't make things any easier," said Uub.

"I know." Trunks joined him at the cliff's edge and slapped a hand on his shoulder. "But one way or another, this war will be over soon. Hang in there, you hear? We still need you in this."

Uub nodded, making himself smile half-convincingly. With Pan dead and Goku off saving the galaxy he was the only one left who could use Instant Transmission. As much as it sapped his energy right now, using it consistently was the only way to ensure the survival of Earth's citizens.

"What are you out here for anyway? Something on your mind?" asked Goten.

"Yeah, I think I might have found somewhere to take everyone on Earth too," said Uub, charging energy to his fingertips. "But I dunno, it's risky."

* * *

The ruined Capsule Six's healing chamber bubbled and frothed like an active volcano as its inhabitant's recuperation reached its halfway point. Tiny pockets of air fizzled to the surface behind the cracked glass screen. The odd liquid that made up the tank had turned a funny colour from its original clear blue; blood and grime from the saiyan inside had blended with it to make the chamber look like an unwashed fish tank.

Around him the rest of the room – the rest of the ship – was in total disarray. Those annoying warning lights hadn't stopped flashing red since he boarded. Occasionally he slipped out of unconsciousness inside the tank, only to find that he couldn't get back to sleep with the irritating light show. When that happened he felt the strange push of something against his head, like a migraine threatening to take him over. He simply ignored it every time until he fell back into blissful sleep.

Panels of metal from the walls and floor were strewn across the surface of the ship, joined by ceiling tiles swinging from a handful of fragile cables and unopened food rations flung from their cupboards in the quaking battle. The gravity machine had died, communications were offline, appliances were broken and every screen in the ship buzzed in and out of static.

As a matter of fact though, fortune had smiled upon Capsule Six. It seemed that nearly everything had broken except for the engines, thrusters and Dragon Radar, the only components necessary for him to get where he needed to go. By now the ship was in deep space, still chasing after the One Starred Dragon Ball that its only occupant had plotted it towards.

Now that sole resident decided to emerge. Despite his wounds still in the healing process the saiyan deemed that his life was no longer in danger, and that the rest of his injuries would heal naturally. At his command the pod slid open, gallons of water pouring out onto the ship's floor.

When Raditz stepped out it was as a soaked, hunched-over mass of unkempt hair covering most of his features. He shivered from the temperature change and his body still pained him terribly, struggling to get used to regular gravity as opposed to his bed of water. He dragged himself with a limp out of the room, taking every movement in agonising difficulty and a slowness rivalled only by a crippled sloth.

Changing into new clothes, showering and devouring a much needed breakfast for ten took the best part of three hours, during which his mind couldn't stop going over the events leading up to his injuries. He simply couldn't wrap his mind around what he'd seen and felt, and why he'd been spared was a mystery he only could hazard a terrified guess at.

Even so, nothing had changed. He still needed to get to Goku and tell him what happened and he still needed to recover his strength. Training would be foolish; the Kaio-Ken had ravaged his body and beaten him half to death. He felt like he'd been pummelled by that giant ape of his mind over and over again. Working out would only widen the tear in his muscles and break the fractures in his newly mended bones. Still, he felt much better than he did when he arrived there, half-dead and delirious with hunger and blood loss.

The only thing to do was to wait – wait for his body to heal and wait for his ship to reach its destination. He only hoped the former happened first. With nothing else to do Raditz lounged upon the sofa staring dumbly at the static laden plasma screen. A bowl of cereal rested in one hand and a strong whey protein shake in the other.

Raditz had only just began to sip his nutritious milk when he felt a strong consciousness pressing against his mind. It was a feeling he'd experienced only a few times before, but at first the foreignness of the sensation made him instinctively push it away. When the presence still remained he paused for a moment, recognising its familiarity.

He knew that every different consciousness had a distinct feel to it, a kind of _texture _that made them recognisable. He'd been linked up with the likes of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo and Kibito-Kai before, but this new presence was none of them. He'd never had a telepathic connection with this person before, but that didn't mean it wasn't someone he knew. The presence had a warm feeling – a deep sense of insecurity about it surrounded by the colour white.

_Novus? _He dared to ask. _Is that you?_

_ Finally you pick up. I've been calling for days!_

Raditz scratched his head. Hearing his sparring partner's voice again was certainly a breath of fresh air, though the Vices' words made him pause to think. _Wait, so that feeling I've been having every time I wake up; that was you?_

_ That's right_, she answered.

_Huh. . . _The saiyan considered for a moment. _I just figured it was my injuries. All this time and I never knew you were telepathic._

_ I wasn't. Hyperion taught me the basics – everything he can do, I can now do. I'm not quite as good as him or the Kais just yet though. I might be around your brother's level or something._

Raditz frowned, having never seen his brother display the ability. _Goku's telepathic?_

_ Apparently. Anyway I didn't call you to show off my new powers_, said Novus.

_ So why did you call?_

_ . . . I was worried._

_ Aww that's cute_, laughed the saiyan.

_ Shut it. Am I not allowed to be worried? If you died then whose ass would I have to kick when this is all over?_

_ No, no – it's fine, carry on_. Raditz chuckled to himself, suddenly thankful that his mouth and his mind were two separate parts. Throughout the conversation he could continue to eat and drink even as he talked without pausing to chew.

_So how are you holding up? I could sense your battle. _Despite her normally cool, dispassionate tone, Raditz couldn't help but notice genuine fear slipping into her voice this time. He supposed it was harder to mask one's thoughts through a telepathic conversation.

The saiyan looked down at the great scar across his chest, still twinging with pain where Frieza had torn through his body. His muscles burned whenever he constricted a muscle. _Honestly I've been better. I don't think I've ever been so badly injured before. It might take a while for me to get back on my feet – Frieza did a real number on my body._

_And your mind? Really, how are you feeling?_

Raditz took a long pause. He hung his head and suddenly buried his face in his hands, cringing awkwardly before he spoke again. _Yeah, I'm fine_.

_What is it? _Novus noticed the pause. _Come on, you can tell me._

_It's. . . Complicated. _As he nestled deeper into the couch an idea suddenly hit the saiyan. _Hey, you know your new ability? Could you use it to set up a link between us and my father?_

Novus's few seconds of silence confirmed that she couldn't even before she spoke. _No, I'm sorry. I can pick up your energy because I know it best – Hyperion's too, but I never fought Bardock. We're heading to the same place though. I could pass on a message if you want?_

_ No. . . No it's alright, forget about it._

_ Oh I see, you'll tell your estranged father but you won't tell me? _She coaxed.

_It's. . ._ Raditz struggled for the words. _It's kind of a saiyan thing._

_ Ah. Frieza wounded your pride did he?_

_ Something like that. _Alone in the lounge Raditz shook his head in shame. He hated lying to people – it reminded him too much of the person he used to be

_You will be okay though, right?_

_ Yeah sure_, he lied again. _Just a few days of doing nothing but staring at this blank television screen and I'll be good to go. I'm letting the rest of my wounds heal naturally, that way I'll come back a little stronger._

_ . . . Television? _Asked the Vicis, unfamiliar with the device.

_You've got a lot to learn when you get back to Earth. I'd be more worried about yourself anyway – careful out there Novus. I know you're stronger now but you'd better promise me that if things start to get ugly you'll get out of there._

_ Would you just turn tail and run away?_

Raditz considered. He was a saiyan – the same rules didn't apply to him as they did for other races. Trying to explain that concept to someone other than a saiyan though had proved historically impossible. _No_, he admitted.

_Then neither would I._

_ Just_, started Raditz, frustrated by her stubbornness, _just stay safe then._

_ I will. See you Raditz; I'm glad you're okay._

* * *

"You want to _WHAT?_"

Uub recoiled, threatened by Goten's sudden outburst of shock at his proposition. What he'd suggested had been the craziest, strangest and brilliant idea he'd ever come up with, but no one was more unsure of it than he.

After Mars had been blown up by Alpha there were no planets left in the Solar System that could potentially foster human life, and even if they did flee to another neighbouring galaxy, such distances were baby steps to Alpha – he'd find them without too much trouble.

Only one option then remained. If they couldn't hide out in this segment of the universe then they'd have to cross dimensions to reach safety, and there was one in particular Uub knew was especially safe: Shenron's.

They'd been there once before, when Goku had made his comeback, rescuing the Z-Fighters from the clutches of the Vices and escorting them back to where he'd spent the prior six months in training. They stayed there overnight before launching the final assault on the dark tower of the Vices a week later. The dimension was big – possibly infinite – with more than enough room to accommodate Earth's entire populous.

They could stay there until the war was over, and then if Earth had been destroyed they'd find a new planet in the aftermath. It was perfect; safe from Alpha, sustainable for human life, warm and spacious. Sure, it wasn't exactly the nicest place to look at, but humanity's survival was on the line.

"No, think about it Goten – it's brilliant!" objected Trunks. "We can store all our resources, have a safe headquarters for the group and keep humanity shielded from Alpha."

"I guess." Goten shrugged. "It just seems a little weird taking Earth to Shenron instead of the other way around,"

"Trust me, it's perfect."

There was only one problem with Uub's plan: Uub himself. He stressed three times in his explanation that he was taking a huge risk in trying to perform an Inter-Dimensional Instant Transmission, but either Trunks and Goten hadn't heard or their faith in him was so strong that the risk became negligible.

"Come on, let's not get our hopes up too high," he said. "Like I said already, I've never done it before – I've only seen Goku do it twice, it's not enough! I could get caught between dimensions and ripped apart. I could risk all of us and pull something out of the void – there are things out there that you're not supposed to mess with, and straddling dimensions is one of them."

"You copied the Kamehameha after only seeing it once! Surely you can do this too!" said Goten.

"No, no, no, that was different," he insisted. With him being the only Z-Fighter around with the ability of mimicry it was hard for Uub to explain his power in terms the others could understand. It wasn't simply a case of looking and replicating.

When Uub copied a technique, the ability simply allowed him to bypass the training phase. He still needed the ki available to pull off every manoeuvre he saw, meaning he'd never been able to copy something like the Crimson Oblivion even whilst at his peak. Just having the energy wasn't enough though; he needed to _understand _the move completely before attempting it, otherwise it was prone to backfire catastrophically.

Even before Majin Buu had sucked him dry of all his hard-earned power, pulling off an Inter-Dimensional Instant Transmission would've been risky. He simply hadn't seen it enough times to properly understand how it worked; he'd absorbed the general gist of it, but that was all.

"The Kamehameha was different," he explained. "No offence, but as far as abilities go it's one of the most basic energy techniques I've come across – limitless in power mind you – but still pretty basic." Uub took a moment to plot his words as Trunks pulled a mocking face at Goten. "I had to watch Trunks's Echo Force and Raditz's Kaio-Ken about two dozen times to pull them off – they're hard to analyse and the ki manipulation is totally different to normal attacks.

"But the Inter-Dimensional Instant Transmission is one of the single most complex techniques I've ever seen. It's not just making yourself move at the speed of light – you actually have to pass through the fabric of reality without tearing it apart in the process. I've no idea how Goku even trained for something like that."

"It can't be that much different from the normal one though, can it?" said Goten.

"Yes! Yes it is!" Uub suddenly sighed in defeat and plodded his way back over to the cliff face, again staring out over the mass of clouds and stark blue skies above them. He balled his hands into fists, frustrated that so much hung over him in his pathetic condition.

"Uub, we know we're asking a lot," Trunks began, the lavender haired saiyan having far more tact than his best friend. "But you're the only one who can do this. You might not feel like it, but right now the entire Earth is counting on you. _I_ know you can do it and so does Goten. That's enough isn't it?"

"And hey, if you break the universe in the process then we'll take the fall for it – we'll tell my dad and Vegeta that we forced you into it," said Goten.

Uub thought about it. They were right; if he did nothing then it was the same dooming them all. No matter how much he hated the thought, everyone's fate rested upon his ability. He'd suggested the idea himself, but it had merely been a whim – once Trunks and Goten agreed the reality of it suddenly came upon him.

Hands shaking, heart thumping, Uub extended two fingers and placed them to his forehead. He channelled his energy, focusing on the slither of a memory from an event three whole years ago. He thought about everything, from the way Goku had moved to the minute fluctuations in his ki. Closing his eyes, Uub prepared to make the jump, right up until he felt a hand on either shoulder.

"Oh no you don't," said Trunks. "You really think we'd let you do something like this by yourself? You're bringing us along for the ride."

"What? Don't be an idiot! I'm not risking your lives for nothing!"

"If you don't make it, then we'll go down with you."

Goten nodded. "That's right. You'll have more of an incentive to pull it off if you know we're at risk too."

Scowling, Uub shook his head and began again. Saiyans – they could be so stubborn when they wanted to be. Trying to talk them out of it would be impossible, that much they'd inherited from their parents. The majin redoubled his efforts, copying every last detail down to the tiniest energy flickers, until eventually he was as ready as he could be.

The trio disappeared, vanishing instantly in a stripe of fading lines to hurtle through the fabric of space. Uub's stomach lurched as he directed them through the veil that separated universes. It was a fragile wall – a thin layer of membrane that divided worlds, capable of shattering if even the slightest pressure was placed upon it.

Trying to sift through it whilst keeping everyone intact was a delicate process, but Uub had more experience than most with the most basic strain of the Instant Transmission. Overcompensating with energy he guided them through the shroud, pursuing Shenron's domain. Doing all of this whilst travelling at the speed of light became nearly impossible; Uub had to concentrate even harder to prevent letting go of the two.

His vision warped into a muddled lens as they hurtled through dimensions. His body span, head bobbing wildly until he felt it might explode. At this point numbness claimed his fingers, spreading up his arms with a chill that made his hairs stand up on end and his teeth chatter together, and yet his torso felt ablaze with the strain.

After a light-speed jump that seemed to last forever the three warriors finally made it through. Materialising five feet off the ground, Uub didn't quite have time to sustain his flight before he went crashing to the cold, mirror-polished steel floor. He landed on all fours, and when he tried to get up a vomit of blood served to keep him down.

"Uub!" Goten touched down next to him, Trunks too. He'd spared them both the agony of having their insides lynched by the jump, but for him the damage had already been done. His stomach churned like a knife resided there, forming the worst cramps he'd ever endured. The only thing to do was stay still and wait until the feeling wore off – he estimated no more than an hour.

His head was about the only part of his body that didn't hurt when he moved it, but he needed only that to know their jump had been a success. Looking around he saw the familiar sight of Shenron's lair. Shimmering, metallic tiles served as the base for a great hall large enough to encompass the foot of a mountain. Granite walls of a stony grey made sharp crags beside them; they loomed overhead, up to a ceiling a whole mile high above them.

Along the walls countless doors could be seen. From his previous visit Uub knew that every one of these opened into a seemingly endless corridor, each with another door every fifteen yards on either side, which led to bedrooms of the most luxurious décor. He knew there were other chambers of this gigantic dimension that he'd yet to see, chiefly the great mountain range that lay just beyond the most striking feature of the hall.

A great set of double doors, over a hundred feet in height, loomed over the comparatively tiny Z-Fighters. It left a shadow in its wake that hung over the entire hall, green, golden and enormous in its grandeur. Goku told them long ago that the Eternal Dragon himself spent most of his time out there, an everlasting zone of astronomical gravity levels. Uub couldn't help but lament that in his condition he'd never be able to survive setting a single foot out there.

Trunks moved to help up his friend when all of a sudden noise filled the room. The doors heaved open in one mighty crash, swinging back and forth as the head of Shenron burst into the room. He filled the hall in a matter of seconds; one moment Uub had been in awe at the gargantuan splendour of the doors, and the next found himself staring, half-blinded at the long, powerful dragon.

Shenron's scales glimmered like a coat of pure emeralds, his great length forming a twisting, bumping road that snaked around the hall like a complex racing track. As always he made sure that his head towered directly over them, so that he could stare them down through those opaque scarlet eyes of an Eternal Dragon.

He bared his fangs into a growl. Shenron's whiskers quivered in apparent anger as steam vented in twin columns from his nostrils. When he spoke, his voice echoed across the room, a voice that commanded all the volume and authority of a thunderstorm. His words were drawn out, his tone threatening.

"**Who is it?**" he demanded. When no answer came but a series of splutters he continued. "**You are not Goku. How did you come to be here?**"

Goten cried up, "We're friends of Goku! I'm his son, see!" he pointed to his face – to that same childish expression. "We need your help!"

"**Answer my question.**"

With a groan of effort Uub forced himself back to his feet. His abdomen felt about to split open, so he clutched it still with his right hand as he addressed the leviathan before him. "I brought us here. I copied Goku's technique you see. He's away right now, but we're here on his word. We wouldn't come to this place if there was any other alternative."

"**You are weak, mortal. How did you come to possess my student's power?**"

Uub bit his tongue for a moment before he spoke. "I'm Goku's student. And I used to be pretty strong, right until I went up against a Shadow Dragon. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that though."

"**Do not suppose anything. I know all about my cousin's treachery.**"

"Then you know all life is doomed if we don't do something to stop it," said Trunks. "While we still live to cherish it, Alpha will have his sights set on Earth. We need to evacuate the people, and bringing them over here would be our best shot at saving humanity. It's secluded, safe and big enough to house that many living beings."

"**I gave up the Dragon Balls a long time ago,**" boomed Shenron. "**I do not have nearly enough power to transport that many people.**"

"You don't have to. Uub here should be able to do it, once he gets used to this new Instant Transmission of course."

Uub forced a chuckle out of Trunks's jest. He was right though, the first time was the worst. Uub figured that the next time he transported them he'd pull it off with less difficulty.

"So what do you say Shenron? I know we don't have the right to wishes anymore, but think of this as a simle request on Goku's behalf."

Silence coated the hall for a few moments. Uub didn't know whether the dragon was about to laugh or attack them. He simply hovered in static over them, eyes betraying nothing except that cold stare of solid red. At long last Shenron gave a low thrum in his throat – a thoughtful drone of indecision.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Back again guys. Yeah yeah I know, I've been absent AGAIN. Tell you the truth I've had a pretty lousy month. Just to put it into perspective, the pitiful piece of shit known as the Mass Effect 3 ending only made things _slightly _worse.

Sooo Shenron is back, and it looks like the human race might be saved. . . Yeah there wasn't really much to talk about in this chapter. Raditz is up and about and Bardock and King Vegeta look like they'll be fighting soon but most of that was just expositiony foreshadowy stuff. I like that Uub is still managing to be useful though, even if I'm not a big fan of him as such.

Should have another drawing up next week, and this time it's of a completely unseen before character! Yay! Wonder if anyone can guess who it is?

This week the One Star isn't Alpha, the namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul, Ginyu the frog, Pui Pui, Garlic Junior, Raiti and Zaacro, blonde Launch or Mercenary Tao, iiiiiiit's Shu! I always liked the Pilaf crew :D


	23. Chapter 23 Showdown

Chapter 23: Showdown

Three Days Later

When the saiyan arrived the sun was already setting over one of the planet's brief, cloudy days. He stepped out of the depressurised cabin of Capsule Seven without even checking the oxygen levels, but if he ordered an analysis he would've noticed the change early. Instead the saiyan experienced a sudden gut-churning sickness as he stepped – or rather floated – out onto the ramp.

On this murky planet of a wet, vomit-like green the gravity was gone. No wind rippled across the murky ponds that spread a swamp like an infection across the surface. It was impossible to tell how deep they were; the saiyan feared they might swallow his feet if he landed. Over to the east dense jungles of shady vegetation sprouted up here and there, along with menacing, bowing leaves and a thickly carpeted underbrush.

Clouds hovered overhead, their shadows quilting the toxic planet in perpetual gloom. Despite the visibly large sun he'd seen whilst entering the atmosphere it seemed paltry and insignificant behind the thick masses of vapour in the sky, as though all the happiness had been sucked dry on this planet along with the gravity.

With a light push of energy from his fingertips the saiyan drifted off the platform. He made sure not to let his boots touch the bubbling gloop of the swamp below when he glided to the surface, and then he hovered, stationary with his eyes closed; his enemies would come to him.

Across the man's forehead was a blood-dyed headband, joining both a well-groomed goatee and a noticeable cross-shaped scar across his left cheek. A stern expression and a sharp nose led down to a wide frame, a physique chiselled to perfection through over fifteen decades of cumulative training. Across his chest was a plated, caped set of saiyan battle armour coloured black and green, marked with distinctive buttons and a royal cape draping down at the back.

His hair distinguished him as a saiyan; spikes jutted out at impossible angles, varying in thickness and orientation for a windswept, dramatic appearance befitting of such a warrior.

The saiyan's eyes snapped open suddenly, dark circles as black as coal. He smiled and stroked a lock of hair behind his ear as he felt the approach of a small squadron. They relatively were small in power, minds possessed by madness and bodies misshapen into grotesque figures. They followed orders and liked cold places. Simply from his mind's eye the saiyan could make out everything about them – they were far from a match for him.

"So," he began, speaking in a cross-cutting voice of two distinct saiyans. "These are Vynuls huh?"

The man waited until they were upon him, and then he waited some more. One by one the Vynuls landed to form an enclosing circle in the swamp – their usual tactic. From here the saiyan could make no effort to escape them and his attacks would always be compromised by one of the creatures closing in from his blindside.

But even so, the saiyan laid waste to them.

After waiting in vain for the man to make a move the Vynuls attacked. One swooped in from his flank, only to be met with a face-crushing elbow to the jaw. The saiyan never even spared it a second look before he swayed effortlessly away from the punch of another. One after another the saiyan demolished them; he ducked into a low kick at the precise moment that allowed two opposing Vynuls to crash into each other, and then whirled around with a ki-blazed palm straight into the path of another.

Throughout the entire battle the saiyan never moved more than a few feet. When the dust settled he was stood in the exact same place, only this time a heap of crumpled, defeated fighters lay beneath him. Everything had been effortless – as though he'd seen every single move before it happened. His breathing was normal and his temperature cool. None would suspect he'd just crushed a small platoon.

The man stooped down and seized the Vynul at the top of the pile by the neck. He left one alive on purpose, simply so that it could deliver his message.

"Go get your master for me. I don't want to spend all day fighting you freaks."

But the Vynul said nothing in reply. It simply gawped at him with a half-open, lopsided smile and made a guttural noise. Clearly the creature was incapable of human speech; any orders they followed must have been given telepathically or from a different language. In any case the thing was useless. The saiyan tossed it aside and disposed of it with a shot of light through the heart.

* * *

Tien groaned in discomfort as he shifted out of his slumber and back into pain. Ever since his encounter with the Six-Star – Duodecimus – he'd been in a constant state of agony over the sensation of his battered bones. Once rendered unconscious the Vicis overload had brought him to structure at the northern pole of the planet. Here the world was just as boggy and dank, but in his cell Tien had a cold stone floor to look forward to.

The man was dishevelled; he looked twice his true age in the starved, parched environment he'd spent the recent weeks in. He hadn't seen sunlight, nor been permitted to stand from his injuries. Instead he languished in the back of his cell, kept alive only on the fetid drops of water from the roof that formed a puddle at the corner of the room.

There was more red on Tien's shredded outfit than the trademark green and white. One leg was pointed at a ninety degree ankle, an elbow had been reversed, his cranium haemorrhaged and all his ribs had been broken. Back on his ship there was a senzu bean; the thought of it made him hold on just a little longer.

A flicker on his senses spurred the triclops to act. Even half-dead and starved Tien could still feel something out there - a new power had arrived. It could've been nothing but his imagination, and even if this was a new fighter he doubted they'd be able to top Duodecimus, but any hope was enough.

Gritting his teeth, Tien pushed down on his fist in an attempt to stand. Sweat pooled beneath him as he cried out in effort, willing himself up with what scraps of energy he'd managed to muster. Triumph: he was on one knee, now all he needed to do was push himself all the way up. On the pressure of his mangled arm he began to try, and then disaster struck with a cruel move from his captor.

The gravity suddenly doubled, sending Tien and his lead-heavy body tumbling back down to the ground as he felt another bone snap. It was like this every time. Duodecimus always left it a while – just long enough for Tien to get his hopes up – before he sent the man crashing back into ruin.

Blood clogged up his throat until he coughed it out. Through the ringing of his ears Tien found himself aware of footsteps echoing down the corridor. As regular as the drops of water they fell towards him, and as his heart raced in his chest the triclops turned to the bars of his cell.

There stood Duodecimus, proud and mighty in all his glory, his chest thrust out to reassure himself of his own importance. Tangled brown hair formed a collar around his shoulders, and through its greasy strands he peered at the fighter, savouring the palpable look of fear of Tien's face. As he'd proven already, Duodecimus was in a league well beyond that of what regular humans could conceivably fall into. The captain of the Vices had nearly bested Vegeta once.

"Tenacious, even in the face of death. Most would call it stupidity – these antics of yours." he said. "But then again I'd expect nothing less from one of the first Z-Fighters. You never seemed to get the memo about, what was it? 'Staying down'?"

To punctuate his words the twelve o'clock Vicis brought up the gravity of the space around him, flattening Tien harder into the concrete floor. The man's weight increased so much the impression of his body bore into the ground; rock fragments spat up and before long the moisture from beneath him was rubbed into his face as Tien stifled a noise of pain.

At full power, blowing the whole structure to ashes would be child's play to Tien. In such a state he could do nothing though. His injuries were life-threatening, and whenever he recovered enough energy to make any kind of escape attempt Duodecimus came along and made it all for naught. Sometimes he set a ravenous pack of Vynuls on Tien too; that was his favourite form of torture.

From face down in his swampy crater Tien managed to splutter something out. Duodecimus didn't hear at first, so he spoke up louder the second time. "Why don't you just kill me already?" he asked.

"Kill you? Why should I? You're no threat to me."

"So I'm not worth killing? Is that it?" As much as the Vices' words annoyed him Tien knew they were true. He was nowhere near a match for this man. Nothing he did would make a difference.

"Partly. But mostly because my master thinks you will make an exceptional bargaining chip," confessed Duodecimus. "You Z-Fighters tend to overvalue your weak."

"Heh. And here I didn't take Alpha for the hostage-taking type," Tien scoffed.

Duodecimus growled a low chuckle to himself. He set to pacing about the corridor, back and forth between the walls of Tien's cell, still laughing contentedly to himself like he knew something the Z-Fighter didn't. Once Tien rolled onto his back the Vicis cast a glance over his shoulder to the man, his eyes filled with an eager glint.

"Who said anything about Alpha? I have only ever served one master." he said at last.

Tien felt his heart sink. If what Duodecimus said was true then the universe was doomed – if what he said was true, then Chronus himself had come back to the realm of the living. He shook his head when he realised it didn't make sense; Chronus's energy had been so evil – so massive – that even he could feel it from halfway across the universe. Surely if Chronus _had _returned then one of them would've noticed by now? King Vegeta could apparently pick up anything, so why had he failed to spot something like that?

"That's impossible. You're bluffing. There's no way Chronus could be back! The amount of negative energy you'd need – Alpha couldn't have that much. And besides, if Chronus was made a Shadow Dragon then what use would Alpha have for you?"

The captain's laughter continued to escalate until he reached full-blown hysteria. As he approached the steel bars he towered over Tien, trying to show off just how much difference in strength and knowledge there was between the two of them.

"You're right," he answered, delving into his explanation. "Alpha didn't have enough energy to bring my master back – not completely anyway. Instead he broke Lord Chronus down to an astral form and implanted him inside of me. I am the vessel for my Master. Whenever I expend energy, part of it goes to him, bringing closer the day when he will be restored to life once more! It's one of Alpha's more. . . Interesting techniques."

"So when Chronus comes back, what happens to you? If you're just a cocoon for him then how do you plan on staying alive once he returns?" Tien couldn't help but ask.

"What happens to me is of no importance. I was created to serve; I will live and die for Lord Chronus."

Tien cursed to himself; there was little use trying to appeal to the Vices' sense of self-preservation. He had none - Duodecimus was a being without a real conscience – single minded and prepared to sacrifice himself for what he believed to be a greater cause, just as Chronus designed. With Tien out of things to say, the captain continued.

"Chronus is the true Six-Star Shadow Dragon, and when he returns he will fulfil his goal and reclaim his rightful place as the most powerful being in the universe! . . It shouldn't be long now."

"What do you mean?" said Tien.

"A friend of yours is on his way here now, surely you've felt it? Not much of a challenge I imagine, but he's certainly stronger than you are. I should use up enough energy fighting him to go a long way towards my master's revival."

Finally, salvation had arrived. The energy Tien felt earlier drew nearer. It was a power he hadn't sensed before, but from its size he knew it was strong, and from the feel of it, saiyan.

As Duodecimus left through a door at the end of the corridor Tien felt hope welling up inside him, a feeling he thought he'd never experience again. He wasn't concerned for his own safety; they'd need someone strong to take down Duodecimus – and possibly Chronus too. Despite the captain's claims Tien suddenly felt certain that this new saiyan could win.

An explosion of bricks and mortar from the opposite wall punctuated that saiyan's arrival. Dreary as the outside was, Tien's heavy eyes still winced at the sight of natural light pouring in from the great hole in the wall, forming a heavenly backdrop for the man that arrived.

_Gogeta? _Tien thought. No – the similarities were there in the face and physique, but little details made certain this was no fusion between Goku and Vegeta. He had no vest-jacket or the other tell-tale signs of a Metamorese fusion, and the earrings of a Patora fusion were missing too, being replaced only by a different coloured ring on each finger. He was bearded and scarred, significantly older with even a dilapidated headband that appeared to be stained by blood.

These were the traits of two saiyans, but not of Goku and Vegeta. This was a fusion of their fathers: Bardock and the King. Tien knew they'd joined the fight but had never seen them before. If he separated the features his mind slowly formed an image of what both of them looked like individually. If they were even a fraction the strength of their sons there was still hope.

Fortunately they were. Tien watched in awe as the fusion, still standing with the blinding backdrop of the outside sky, took apart thirty Vynuls all by himself. They came after him in waves; one after the other they scurried towards him, their movements slow and lumbering to the saiyan elite. Without bothering to transform he blew them all away single-handedly, and even more impressive was the fact that he never moved a single pace from his chosen spot at the centre of the corridor.

With the horde overwhelming him the man spun, flipped and attacked faster than Tien's eyes could follow, but he made it look effortless. His actions were impossibly precise, dodging and parrying blows with only minimal movement between each one; the distance between a foe's strike and his face became quickly measureable in widths of hair strands.

When all thirty charred, burning Vynuls were strewn out like litter in corridor the man finally turned to Tien.

"Are you hurt friend?" he asked, voice blurring into two distinct tracks.

Tien nodded. "Yeah, I got beat pretty bad, but listen-"

"-No time to talk, he's still around." The saiyan looked about and took his stance before bellowing down the hall, "_Come out! _Or are you just too scared to face a true saiyan warrior? Worried the same will happen here as it did the last time you fought one?"

Footsteps sounded again from down the corridor, this time slower than they were previously. The new saiyan stared after him, whilst Tien had to crane his neck to see the rest of the hallway through the bars.

Scared wasn't the right word; Duodecimus looked cautious to say the least – wisely apprehensive of this new threat. It took a few seconds for Tien to realise why.

The Vices, like their old foes the Androids, prided themselves on their absolute knowledge of every Z-Fighter. They'd studied their techniques extensively and shown more than once that they knew exactly how to counter them. This newcomer however, was a total anomaly. Duodecimus had no intel on this saiyan, that much was easy to tell just by the look on his face, an expression totally different to the one he employed to bully Tien with.

"So you show up at last. By all means, keep hiding behind your henchmen. I could keep this up all day."

Duodecimus recoiled. "You seem to know who I am. What was it you said about 'the last time you fought one'?"

"You fought Vegeta right?" asked the saiyan.

"True. But how did you come to know that? Who are you? I didn't think any other saiyans survived the genocide. I sense something of Vegeta in you but. . . No, you're not him – perhaps partly, although-"

"-Wrong." The saiyan's response was short and flat.

"Then you seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am."

The saiyan remained silent as his tail wagged to and fro like a pendulum. He lifted a hand to stroke his beard, pensively debating whether to give anything away about himself.

"Come now, it's just common courtesy to give your name to your opponent," said the Vicis.

"My name is Vardock," the man revealed. He said nothing afterward; his foe would get nothing more than his name, but even from that the captain managed to deduce several details.

"Vardock eh? Yes. . . Yes I see it now. That would be a fusion of Bardock and King Vegeta, no wonder I mistook you for the Prince. It pains me to admit it but I know very little about either of you."

"You are speaking to _one _person," Vardock snapped.

"You know what I meant." Duodecimus shrugged off the comment. It still surprised him that fusions had a sense of individuality. "The two that created you, we ruled them out as non-threats years ago. You might have been pureblood saiyans, but you were weak, not to mention dead."

"I came back."

"Clearly. And judging from the state of my Vynuls. . ." The captain cast a disgusted look to the charred remains of his felled subordinates. "It seems both of those assumptions were wrong."

"Well there's only one way to test that theory."

Vardock held back a smile at the sound of Tien gasping when he shifted his position. The saiyan flattened his feet at shoulder-width and outstretched his arms like he expected an embrace. He was totally off-guard; not one vital area was covered by his stance. If he wished it Duodecimus could aim straight for the neck, the head, the heart, the kidneys, lungs or groin. Instead he simply cocked an eyebrow as Vardock added:

"Take your best shot Vicis, I'm wide open. Let's see if I'm as weak as you expected I'd be."

Duodecimus growled and held back a comment; Vardock only smiled at his indecision as the captain weighed up whether or not he was bluffing. Such confidence went hand in hand with either extreme power or extreme foolishness, and Vardock's obvious fighting experience made Duodecimus doubt he was the latter. Nevertheless, a chance like this was too good to pass up. Even without foresight Vardock knew he'd take the bait.

The captain vanished at warp-speed in a race of vertical lines. Vardock reckoned Tien's eyes couldn't catch what happened next, but the saiyan himself had seen it already. He turned, pivoting off one foot like a professional basketball player to the exact spot where the Vicis materialised. A flash of terrific power had him ascending all the way up to the third level of Super Saiyan as his whip-like tail closed in around the captain's arm.

With a firm lock on Duodecimus Vardock did his worst. If the Vicis struggled he constricted his tail harder around the brute's bicep, and when he stopped Vardock slammed him hard with three consecutive kicks. They landed with perfect accuracy at the centre-spot of the clock face tattoo. Before the third kick struck the saiyan released his hold. Duodecimus made another hole in the wall as he careered out onto the planet.

"Oh dear," Vardock began, bashfully kicking the ground at his feet. He still hadn't moved from that one spot. "That didn't last very long did it? Sure you don't want to try again?"

The saiyan's comment seemed to unearth something primal within Duodecimus. The captain uttered a low snarl and slapped his thigh before disappearing again. This time however, Vardock caught him.

In the very midst of a super-speed jump the saiyan fusion intercepted his foe with one of his own. Vardock's knee came down so fast that it buried itself a dent in the captain's back; his front on the other hand made a five-storey high splash in the fetid water.

As the wave calmed to a dying fountain Vardock gracefully flipped back to a soft patch of grass in the swamp. He smiled to himself, satisfied with his power and enjoying the thought of Duodecimus still buried in the bog, trying with all his might to think of some way to best him.

"That's impossible!" said a voice.

Vardock turned back to the sound. Already he'd forgotten about Tien, still stuck in his tiny cell in a critical condition. Wordlessly the saiyan raised his eyebrows at the triclops, prompting him to elaborate.

Tien looked about to explain his point when Duodecimus emerged. Head to toe his body was laced thick with green and brown pond scum. His trousers were soaked through and his impressive chest caked with muck. A burst of his aura dried him off, yet it did little to sober the sour expression he wore. Like Tien, he hadn't a clue what was going on.

"What is this? Some kind of a joke?" he demanded.

"You're the only joke here," said Vardock.

"Don't play games with me saiyan! How are you doing that?"

"Doing what? Beating you?"

"Yes. Our power levels right now are evenly matched. Actually no – if I had to pick one, I'd say mine's a little higher," explained the Vicis.

Vardock sighed and formed a combat stance. "Not lacking in confidence are you? You should know that there's more to a fight than just power levels."

"How is it that you keep besting me? It's almost as if-"

"Almost as if what?" Vardock narrowed his eyes, his stare boring into his opponent with the brow-less scowl of a Super Saiyan 3. "_Say it_."

". . . As if you're predicting my movements," managed Duodecimus. It was something he didn't seem to want to admit until he had confirmation, but there was no denying it. Twice now Vardock had moved flawlessly; he moved exactly to the right position and exploited the biggest opening he had. One bout of a thousand and a fighter might get lucky like that, but two in a row was impossible.

"I'm surprised you figured it out after two rounds. Impressive," said Vardock with a shrug.

Tien's jaw dropped, as did the captain's.

"No – there's no way," insisted the Vicis. "I've never heard of that technique before. True precognition like that in battle is just a myth; no one's ever been to pull it off."

"So I'm lying? Alright then, I won't look." True to his word the saiyan shut his eyes. With his other senses active he could hear the sound of Tien groaning; fusions were always so cocky, but Vardock knew his own confidence was hardly misplaced.

He saw everything before it happened in his mind. When ki bombs dropped from the sky like a meteor shower he knew the safe zones to dart away from the falling comets, and when Duodecimus joined the fleet of attacks Vardock casually leaned away from his punch. Frustrated, the Vicis redoubled his efforts.

Duodecimus rained strike after strike down on the shorter man, yet for all his efforts he hit nothing but air as Vardock evaded with eyes still shut. He didn't see the saiyan's heel meeting the back of his head until it was too late - he was still preoccupied in attacking the afterimage when he suddenly found himself plummeting back down to the swamp for a second time.

Vardock landed and opened his eyes. He approached as Duodecimus pulled his head from the swamp, explaining as he went:

"When Bardock visited the planet Kanassa over half a century ago, the last Kanassan warrior instilled upon him the ability to see into the future. Bardock experiences these frequently as visions that he can make some sense of, but when he ascends past a Super Saiyan 3 he unlocks a second ability. Short-term precognition he calls it – he can see an opponent's attack in the moment before it hits, allowing him to act accordingly to counter.

"Partner that up with King Vegeta's legendary sensory levels and you've got one hell of a combination. His reactions and feel for energy mean both my speed and power output are A-grade; plus I'll have a good idea of the long-term effects of your techniques. There's no move you can pull out that I can't analyse."

"_Why you-_"

"-But don't despair Vicis," said Vardock with a shrug. "I'm hoping to get a decent enough challenge out of you. This should be interesting. After all, I know you're the only one of the twelve who can bolster their strength twice. How about you show me?"

Duodecimus remained silent as the tables were turned. His opponent knowing everything about him instead of the other way around unnerved the old captain. Just as before he watched Vardock intently, though this time he made no effort to attack.

"Not going to share? Fine, I guess I'll have to go first," lamented the saiyan, before arching into a pose so casually one might think him to be stretching.

With his fists clenched Vardock began a deep, gravel-laden roar that shook the still waters of the planet with its intensity. Particles of energy coupled with a roaring flame of an aura engulfed him, and through the smoky heat wave his image began to change.

First came was the hair, thickening and shifting to a deep red hue as the blaze grew stronger. A tone of auburn like mulled wine painted the newly grown fur across his torso. Even his outfit changed; saiyan armour was discarded completely in favour of white baggy combat trousers buckled tight with a belt bearing the saiyan emblem.

Already considerable muscles nearly doubled in size. Biceps, abdomen, shoulders and pectoral muscles all received yet another significant boost from the next level of Super Saiyan.

The Super Saiyan 4 by its very nature was the transformation that began small-scale individual differences, most notably the eyes. All prior transformations involved every saiyan taking on almost exactly the same features, but every Super Saiyan 4 – and subsequently 5 – had a different eye colour. Vardock was no different; irises of a solid platinum colour ringed around his pupils like tiny circlets of steel.

In spite of the drastic change though, Duodecimus was unimpressed. In fact it seemed like all his prior fear of Vardock's incredible abilities vanished in an instant.

"Super Saiyan 4?" he asked, barely containing a laugh. "That's your maximum? It took Vegeta reaching the fifth level to beat me. What hope do you really think you have against me once I show my true strength?"

"Quite a bit actually. It's true that Super Saiyan 5 is beyond me. Tell you the truth, I'm just too old, and Bardock and Vegeta aren't quite on the same wavelength – at least not enough for me to go one step beyond. But I'm a _fused _Super Saiyan 4 – it's the next best thing really, and considering how badly you lost earlier I'd say my chances are alright."

Duodecimus answered with a grin, then without warning blew apart the ground by his feet. Tirades of wind buffeted from his aura as the clock face tattoo on his chest began to spin. Even Vardock had to cringe; the captain's transformation was nothing like a saiyan's – it was uglier; somehow less dignified. He watched as the brute's muscles bulged into veiny monstrosities before his eyes, his ropey hair flailing around his face like a net caught in a hurricane.

Vardock made sure not to stare directly into the twelve o'clock tattoo. The way it span at faster than he could follow and the odd shapes its hands twisted into made him dizzy. He deduced there was probably some hypnotic power behind the marks designed to neutralise lesser beings.

Suddenly minor enchantments were the least of his worries. At first he thought it was his imagination, but as his back began to instinctively hunch Vardock recognised that the gravity was on the rise. Yet it was strange – different to what he'd seen and heard of this fighter. He should've been out of range. The saiyan glided back another ten paces, landing just as heavy in the moment Duodecimus finished his power-up.

"No sense trying to run Vardock. Alpha found this world purposely for me. This _whole planet _is under my control."

The saiyan nodded as he familiarised himself with three hundred times the Earth's normal gravity. "Makes sense I guess. That explains the shifting gravity on this world. But you can't throw me off by changing it every now and again; remember I've already seen what you're about to do."

"Which is meaningless if you can do nothing to prevent it."

Vardock braced himself, but all the same he still hissed in pain when the atmosphere shot up to five hundred Gs. Under that kind of pressure his movements were hindered, his peerless reflexes dulled and bent knees forcing him out of an ideal stance. When Duodecimus attacked there was no time to dodge.

Instead Vardock's forearm snapped up, absorbing the impact like a steel girder as his tail already whipped across him to deflect the next kick. Another explosion from his aura forced him to his very maximum, at which point the saiyan finally decided to attack.

"_Riot Javelin!_"

In close quarters such a long range technique would normally work terribly, but Vardock's perfect accuracy ensured it made no difference. Duodecimus fled to the air as a flurry of sharpened azure blasts flew towards him like a storm of icicles. Under five hundred times the Earth's regular pressure the spears thinned towards the end of their tether, but any direct hits were sure to leave a mark. As soon as watching the Vicis dance about ceased to be amusing Vardock took after him, leaving an arc of orange energy in his wake as he crossed the sky.

It was only when an ear-splitting scream from the future distracted him that Vardock stopped and looked around in confusion. When the scream repeated itself in real time he recognised it as Tien's, but by then Duodecimus had taken advantage of his folly. Vardock saw it too late.

A jaw-cracking punch careered into the saiyan. Blood and a fountain of spittle sprayed from one cheek as he plummeted; this time he was the one to hit the swamp, and under so much gravity the impact was made considerably worse. His confusion had arisen from the fact that Duodecimus was nowhere near Tien when he decided to cry out, but that didn't matter anymore.

Whilst being a force to be reckoned with, Tien was only human. Such a fragile body couldn't handle the extreme amounts of gravity Duodecimus was forced to use against Vardock, and after so much punishment already the reality of the situation became apparent; Tien was dying – it was a miracle he'd lasted this long.

The captain noticed this and grinned. As Vardock blasted out of the water Duodecimus mimicked the action of twisting a knob, raising and lowering the gravity as he spun his hand clockwise and anticlockwise. For Vardock the effects were hardly noticeable, but the intensity of the gravity correlated precisely to the volume and pitch of Tien's screams – Duodecimus found it amusing.

"Stop it! Have you no shame as a warrior?" demanded Vardock. "The human has nothing to do with this fight, and even if he did, look at the state of him."

Duodecimus smirked again, showing off pearly white teeth behind his scruffy exterior. "You're right I suppose. . . It's time to put an end to this."

With his intents made clear the captain made a final vicious twist of his hand. Vardock made after him in a panic, having already seen the effects for himself. He found it was exactly as Duodecimus predicted though: seeing the future was useless if he had no power to change it.

He slammed the captain with a savage right hook before charging another Riot Javelin at his chest - in such a short space of time it was the most he could muster, although hardly enough to deter Duodecimus. The gravity kept on rising and rising as the Vicis sniggered through mouthfuls of blood.

Before long Vardock heard the sound of Tien's bones cracking over his torturous roar. Seconds were all that remained of his life, but even in knowing that the saiyan dished out everything he could.

"_Vardock! Vardock listen to me!_" cried Tien. _"He's Chronus! You get that? Chr-_" One final crack silenced the three eyed man. Perhaps it was his neck, his spine or his skull; Vardock didn't want to look. He felt the warrior's energy signal dissipate into nothingness – felt his soul cross dimensions towards the afterlife.

Vardock bowed his head in respect. He could only imagine how painful it must've been for Tien to choke out those final words and let the fusion know exactly what he was up against. He'd given his last breath to help their cause – that made him a hero as far as Vardock was concerned. It had taken him a while to see it, but as much as the saiyan race went on about their natural superiority, Vardock knew that true power was in the mind.

He reflected suddenly that the time to honour this man was later; for now he had to make sure Tien's warning wasn't for nothing. Vardock considered the information as Duodecimus gave a toothy grin. In truth he'd suspected it, but brushed it off as his own imagination: from the moment he clashed fists with the Vices captain, Vardock felt a trace of Earth's previous foe.

The saiyan suspected it might've been down to them being similar creations, but if what Tien said was true then Duodecimus harboured Chronus within him. Vardock found himself reminded of the time when his two counterparts had watched their sons battle on Earth – when every blow and every blast was more fuel to the monster Majin Buu. He deduced that a similar process was happening here, and Duodecimus's reaction seemed to confirm it.

"Well it looks like I can't let this battle drag on. I'll need to finish this quickly," said Vardock. As much as his saiyan thirst for battle demanded a strong opponent, fear and logic took its place this time: if Chronus came back they were all as good as dead.

* * *

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* * *

Author's Notes: Hulloo. Really need to get back into a routine with this. Finding it hard to get motivated lately, although since the third act begins after the next chapter I'll (hopefully) be getting back into it. All my writing time lately has been going towards the two short-stories on my creative writing module. Might put them both up on fictionpress if anyone's interested, one's about seppuku (samurai suicide) and one's about zombies – both of them are shorter than one of these chapters too.

So yeah. If I start to slack off and I don't make the bi-weekly deadlines please don't hesitate to message me with a virtual slap. I'll actually be grateful for it.

Anyway, 'Vardock'. I swear I must've come up with over a dozen ridiculous different combinations of names before that really obvious one hit me. He's making a good impression on me so far; his fighting style at the very least is fun to write.

There's a picture of him (Super Saiyan 4) up on my channel too. Turned out alright I guess. Fusions were never really my strong suit. Still, I've no idea how, but he looks pretty old. Didn't even intend to draw it like that. I mean it makes sense in a way because King Vegeta and Bardock would be in their eighties, but in the afterlife you don't age :S Oh well.

And yeah, Tien had to die. Sorry folks, but he had his moment in the sun when he went all ninja earlier on in the story. He's one of those characters that are just there – almost all his dialogue in the second half of DBZ is completely interchangeable with any other character. In short he's just another person I have to write lines for, and in case you can't tell I'm trying to trim down the roster before Alpha rears his head.

I might've mentioned this already but I had the same problem with Gohan. He's really pretty vanilla after the Cell Games which makes it hard to write dialogue - it's all just generic hero speech, and since he's such a big player I couldn't just neglect him. Everyone hates Pan so she got offed early as well, and Krillin was just collateral - I actually love Krillin to pieces but there was just no believable way he could've survived that fight xD

This week the One Star isn't Alpha, the namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul, Ginyu the frog, Pui Pui, Garlic Junior, Raiti and Zaacro, blonde Launch, Mercenary Tao or Shu, it's Bacterian! Careful, he might scratch his scrotum and poke you.


	24. Chapter 24 The End of Earth

Chapter 24: The End of Earth

Vardock reengaged his foe. With the damage he'd sustained Duodecimus's movements were slower than usual, though he compensated for his sluggish attacks by upping the gravity of the planet around him. Craters formed in the swamp where vast plateaus caved in under the pressure, joined by new ones forming every second as Vardock and his foe bounced from the surface like bolts of lightning.

At his maximum power Vardock held his own superbly. Any attack that came his way was swiftly dodged with a tactful use of foresight and then countered appropriately. It seemed as though even the first power-up of the Vicis captain wasn't enough to stop the saiyan fusion; he was winning, if only just.

Blue energy peppered the sky as a flourish of Riot Javelins escaped the open palm of Vardock, though after a series of aerial manoeuvres the twelve o'clock wearer evaded and ploughed himself straight back into his foe. A dive-bombing football tackle drove the wind from the saiyan's chest, leaving the two hurtling across rank swamp water in a scuffle.

Florescent beams of power flashed the sky alight. Dreary, pregnant clouds reflected the hue of every spectrum colour like a planet-wide rave. Even in just the opening stages of their brawl the two combatants left everything in a mess. It was only natural; the planet's huge size meant that a stray blast wouldn't blow them into space, and nothing else around was powerful enough to intervene.

With that in mind, the planet became a perfect battlefield – any sense of caution quickly went out of the window as the two fighters turned themselves in to the frenzy of such a match.

Vardock leaned away from a tactful left hook, responding gracefully with a backwards, somersaulting kick that caught the chin of the struggling Vicis. After that he used his tail to his advantage once more; he caught Duodecimus around the shoulder and used the muscular appendage to hold him in place whilst seven consecutive elbows rode into the being's nose.

Upon releasing him, Vardock used his opponent's stagger to fire an emerald beam at the Vicis. With all the gravity the blast simply fizzled into nothing but smoke and dust. Little did Duodecimus know, this was all a part of Vardock's plan.

One minute it was there and another it was gone; the massive energy reading of a fused Super Saiyan 4 vanished completely. Duodecimus looked around in vain for any sign of him, and after deeming the area clear the only place that remained was the fleeting cape of grey mist. Like a novice the captain charged in with arms flailing, only to be silenced as Vardock descended from above with a stomp that would've crushed a human's skull like a grape.

Unfortunately Duodecimus was far from human. For a foe, Vardock couldn't help but respect the incredible resilience he showed for taking a beating. As he got up again the Vicis captain forced Vardock into another blitz. Kicks, knees, elbows, punches, head-butts and blasts came in spades, but having seen them already, not one struck the saiyan fusion.

When he grew tired Vardock threw a single jab to stun his foe. With a bloodied nose Duodecimus threw up his guard again, and when he looked up the saiyan descended from a spot ten metres above him.

"That's a pretty impressive trick you've got there, but it's got one fatal flaw!" Vardock roared.

Ignorant of his folly, Duodecimus panicked and increased the power of that same technique Vardock referred to. The gravity skyrocketed, but for the saiyan elite it didn't matter. He let go of all his stabilising energy; all the power it took to keep him afloat and intact in such high pressure was dispelled, turning Vardock into a new kind of weapon.

Once the gravity reached a certain level, the speed he could gain whilst falling was greater than what he could achieve by flying. His fist weighed a thousand tonnes as it ploughed straight into the face of the Vicis, and Vardock hadn't been made to lift a finger – Duodecimus did all the work for him.

The impact reached such an extreme that Duodecimus found himself buried a mile deep in the crust of the planet's surface, and in the moment before he hit the ground Vardock's stabilisers were back up, allowing him to land and turn back to the giant crater. Duodecimus was far from gone, but Vardock reckoned that kind of a blow would almost certainly push him far enough to go all out.

"Gravity is a bitch isn't it?" Vardock called into the ravine. "That move is strong but it can easily be used against you. You ought to be more careful."

Silence followed as Vardock gave his foe a moment to contemplate his mistakes. He didn't like the quiet; whenever a battle was perfectly still it normally meant one party was brimming with emotion, and it didn't take much to work out which Duodecimus was experiencing.

"_You. . ._" The ground shook, pebbles clattered down the hole and the swamp began to part with the rage of the Vicis reaching its climax. Vardock hopped to a hover just in time to avoid the ground coming apart beneath him, as within a few seconds those slim cracks widened into great faults in the earth.

Dark light shone from the countless chasms. Swamp water poured down the crevasse and more rocks shattered into nothingness under the rising pressure of the planet. When Duodecimus emerged, his aura blazing and eyes white with fury, the clock face upon his chest had already began to spin a second time.

If Vardock thought his first transformation was unsightly, the second was far worse. Already swollen muscles bulked up to herculean, preposterous sizes. Any saiyan wielding strength like that would've been encumbered by the muscle mass, but for Duodecimus it didn't seem like an issue. His greasy hair whirled around him once again, this time thickening into even ropier locks as his brow furrowed to a constant glare.

"_Stop!_"

At the sound of a newcomer both Vardock and Duodecimus turned. They followed the voice to the sky, where suddenly the most breathtakingly beautiful scene ensued above them.

The light of gods suddenly pierced through the cracks of the damp clouds above them. Rays brighter and more intense than any sun sent visible pillars down to the planet's surface, as though some celestial force of unknown origin had decided to intervene. A holy aura of such bright white made Vardock shield his eyes as a being drifted through the atmosphere. He vaguely recognised the power, and after considering that the voice was female, he worked out her identity rather quickly.

"_Novus? _Is that you?"

"Looks like you've changed," she answered. "You're not just Bardock anymore. Fusion?"

"That's right. It's Vardock now."

"Pleasure."

The angelic figure of Novus carried on gliding right down to ground level. Stopping, she allowed the aura to dissipate so that her form was on full display.

The nine o'clock Vicis was garbed in a tight-fitted martial arts uniform so white that it seemed to glow. Golden, silky hair like sunshine fell past her shoulders. A miniature clock face tattoo was inked atop her sternum where her gi parted, several times smaller and less extravagant than that of her male counterparts.

"Excuse me," said Duodecimus, "but I believe I may have misheard. I thought for a second there he called you Novus."

Novus nodded. "He did. Long time no see, captain."

"You lie. I don't know where you got that mark, but Novus looked nothing like you – he was a man for starters – and his power was abysmal compared to yours."

"I got stronger. And you simply assumed I was a man the entire time I was inside that armour; you never considered the alternative for even a second – that a woman could become your equal."

"You're wrong on two assumptions. I don't care what gender a warrior is as long as they can fight. But most of all, what makes you think your power is anything close to mine? You're not my equal – not by a long shot. Your full power is considerable, I'll grant you that, but it's a shadow of my own."

Novus grinned, suddenly enjoying the tense fighting banter that characterised these battles. What saiyans saw in fighting she suddenly understood; the sheer satisfaction of proving an opponent wrong was unparalleled. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she prepared to power up.

Energy burst from her like a fountain. Gushing waves of wayward ki enveloped Novus's petite form, as at the same time her tattoo began to spin. The hands convulsed into odd shapes, spinning anticlockwise, twisting and bending. Before long the speed at which they span became a blur. Duodecimus raised his eyebrows in surprise, and in that moment Vardock could see his doubts surfacing.

"I've done enough training since I've been dead to last me a lifetime," Novus began. "You're not the only one who can turn the hands twice!"

Golden-white power formed tendrils – tiny spirits of energy that snaked about Novus. Her hair lengthened in the process, flowing down all the way to her waistline and sharpening into white tips as her signal skyrocketed. Before Novus was done her power left Vardock's in the dust; it soared to heights rivalling even that of the captain stood before her.

Even with his absurdly accurate senses Vardock had a hard time gauging exactly which of the two Vices was the stronger. After a while he deemed Duodecimus the more powerful, but if the two Z-Fighters took him together he knew they had more than enough power to win. As he stood, the old captain didn't have a chance.

"_Forgetting something?_"

Vardock flinched as suddenly an all too familiar voice sneered in his ear. He turned with a punch, shocked that someone had actually managed to sneak up on him before Alpha's hand swatted the fist away.

The sky shifted in an instant. Gone were the heavenly beams pooling from the overcast clouds; now darkness enveloped the planet as an unnatural shadow eclipsed the sun's light. Green bolts of lightning carved apart the sky, falling like rain in the far distance.

Alpha was exactly as Piccolo described: a being shrouded in dark flames, whose very aura dripped acidic black wisps that melted the ground at his feet. Silhouetted, none of his features were distinguishable, though with the power he gave off Vardock was quite certain he didn't _want _to see what horrifying creature lay beneath – Goku could handle that one.

Novus noticed the new presence quickly. Duodecimus bowed in respect at the one who brought him back, allowing the boss to elaborate.

"If you recall," Alpha went on, "I do believe that I specified that only two fighters may challenge the same opponent. Hmm-_heheh_; poor _Tien _already made his stand." Alpha turned to face the corpse of the fallen fighter. "And then Vardock entered the fray. Unless you're so primitive that you can't count, I do believe that adding another is in violation of our agreement."

Novus hissed in annoyance as she turned to the smug Duodecimus. With only Vardock to fight he'd won already, but the young Vicis wouldn't allow it. She hadn't come all this way – through all that training – just to be turned away the moment her time came to fight.

"Just try it, I _dare_ you," said Alpha, guessing Novus's intentions. A sly smile found his lips. "I already gave your fighters one warning. I can be at Earth in a click of my fingers; just try to cross me again and see what happens."

The nine o'clock Vicis recoiled; he was right, if she moved to attack then Alpha would destroy the Earth in an instant. She'd never been there, but it meant a great deal to Raditz and the others, and without the Dragon Balls those innocent lives were irreplaceable.

"It's alright Novus, hang back."

"Huh?" Novus turned to the sound of Vardock, stepping up to fight in spite of the power difference.

He continued. "I can take care of this myself. You don't need to worry about us breaking any rules Alpha."

Alpha didn't say a word in reply; surely he suspected something too. Novus stared at him in disbelief: How did he expect to win? His foresight and extrasensory capabilities made up for his disadvantage in strength, but even with those he didn't have enough to take on Duodecimus alone.

As she stared, Novus chalked it up to saiyan pride. Vardock must've wanted to test his limits against the kind of opponent that outclassed him completely. She thought him insane until the saiyan fusion looked her way and flashed what appeared to be a wink. Without thinking twice she locked on to his energy signature and opened up a psychic link.

_What's going on? What was all that?_ she asked.

_Ah, telepathy, _came the saiyan's voice._ That makes my plan much easier to communicate. Listen closely: when I tell you, blast him from behind. I'll keep him distracted until I can get the perfect opening for you._

_But Chronus is – and the Earth-_

_-I don't have time to explain, just trust me on this one. Do as I say and we'll escape this alive._

Against her better judgement Novus nodded and disengaged the mental link. Alpha muttered something like 'very well' as the Super Saiyan 4 took a fighting stance and called up to his enemy.

"Let's go!"

Vardock's reactions were impeccable. As Duodecimus careered towards the ground he fled just in time to avoid being broken by the captain's knee. The time between his prophetic flashes and the real-time event became faster with the immense speed of his opponent; he saw Duodecimus's attack a mere instant before dodging appropriately.

The captain's knee landscaped the whole area; a giant crater was formed in the wake of thousands of scattering rock fragments, spraying like an avalanche in Vardock's direction. With tact and precision he darted between the bigger ones as fast as Super Saiyan 4 would allow. Spinning wildly, he latched on to a final giant rock cluster as Duodecimus closed in again, leaping off it just in time for the Vices' fist to hit nothing but a boulder.

In the wake of his opponent's failed attack Vardock took his chance. Fireworks flew from his palms as he fled to the skies, each one shrinking under the gravity before lightly burning the skin of Duodecimus. They were no more painful than bee stings to him. As they rounded towards him Vardock feared when he saw the hateful frustration in the beady little eyes of his foe.

This time the saiyan saw it too late; he tried to move in escape, but under the gravity his body simply would not react fast enough to escape a haymaker as Duodecimus came bursting through the rocks. Dazed and falling, Vardock barely felt the grip around his wrists and ankles until they pulled him into a bone-breaking knee to the back.

The fusion made a landslide at the impact of his body. Mists of water vapour joined kicked-up dust clouds from the few dry areas of swamp to create an unnatural haze surrounding the burial. As he landed Duodecimus flared out his power to expel the gas, only to find his prey laid flat on his face. He showed no signs of energy, so the captain marched over and prepared to deliver the finishing blow.

Once he seized Vardock by the tail the saiyan acted. He'd been playing possum – faking unconsciousness just long enough to lull Duodecimus into a false sense of security. Now that his guard was down Vardock lashed out with five consecutive blows; four alternating hooks met the jaw of the Vicis with a boom, and a final kick caused him to stagger.

Vardock needed only his senses to know his attacks were little use: Duodecimus barely flinched from his quartet of fists and the last kick did little more than force a two-step retreat. The captain's overwhelming advantage in size and energy meant Vardock could put scarcely more than a dent into his foe without aid.

Duodecimus recovered as quickly as ever. "Why even bother?" he said. "You should know this is pointless – the Dragons of Wrath and Greed have already taken two of your sons."

"Well Wrath was Broly," Vardock considered for a moment, "so by Greed you must mean Frieza right? I thought I sensed that cretin's foul energy clash with Raditz's, although I hate to inform you that they're both alive."

A growl followed by a sudden vision pre-warned Vardock about a hasty grab for his arm; he feinted back and lightly kicked off the clock-face tattoo to get out of range.

Back in the sky the advantage was Vardock's. With such an open field of battle he could prepare for attacks quicker, but even precognition gave him only a small window at this battle's pace. Duodecimus lunged from the earth and soared up with a combo of attacks, swiftly thrown one after another at speeds that gave Vardock a headache.

Pushing himself to his very limits, Vardock managed to evade most attacks, though at his sudden distraction Duodecimus rocketed a violet blaze of energy to the saiyan's chest. As he clutched his burning, shallow wound Vardock retreated and took a moment to contemplate; he'd seen something that disturbed him, something that the captain was only just beginning to realise.

The twelve o'clock symbol had faded, now only barely visible to the naked eye. Patches of his abdomen turned a sickly purple, tufts of hair shortened and spiked out, and the distinguishable look of his master's black carapace began to form at the corner of Duodecimus's chin. The captain grinned in glee when he noticed the change.

"It's happening. . ." he reflected, chuckling to himself. "It's really happening! Thank you Vardock – for all the energy this fight has drawn from me, my master shall soon return!"

Vardock seized the opportunity and surged forward. With his foe preoccupied in vanity the saiyan managed a solid right hand to the temple, followed up by the point-blank shot of a Riot Javelin.

But Duodecimus barely moved. Every second more and more of Chronus's power flowed into him, and like a poorly-built dam blocking a waterfall, it was only a matter of time before everything burst through and consumed him.

With such close proximity the captain's backhand was impossible to dodge. Just one simple slap made Vardock's head spin, right until Duodecimus caught him by the neck mid-flight.

As his opponent strangled him at a face to face level Vardock noticed even more new traits. The captain's teeth had sharpened into fangs and his muscle mass reduced considerably. Even his eyes had begun to share that same manic, psychopathic look that Chronus harboured. These differences would cease to matter though, as Duodecimus brought up another bolt of violet ki, holding it inches away from the saiyan's face.

"It's been fun, _saiyan_."

"NOVUS!"

At Vardock's call the young Vicis acted in a flash. Duodecimus hadn't even turned by the time Novus's fist made contact with his skull. Such power Vardock never suspected her capable of; white-golden energy formed a shroud around her fists, glowing even brighter when she expelled it in one great beam.

"_Divine Blaster!_"

Heavenly light consumed the planet for a whole mile away from Novus's point of attack. The subdued rumble of white fire flickered across the swamp, accompanying a bang that drowned out the captain's scream ten times over. He'd be damaged from the attack, of that Vardock had no doubt, but the repercussions concerned him more. He turned to where Alpha once stood; he was gone.

One simple scan of his senses was all it took, but for more confirmation Vardock only needed to look over the horizon to see the luminous solar flash visible from every corner of the universe – a side effect of Alpha flexing his muscles. Judging by the horrified look on her face, Novus saw it too.

"Wait, what was that? I thought you had a plan? Wasn't he bluffing?" she demanded, clearly coming to terms with the idea that she might have guaranteed genocide. "What happened to Earth?"

"Earth is gone," said Vardock. "He just destroyed it."

"Are you _insane? _Do you know how many peopl-"

"I said the Earth was destroyed, not its inhabitants. The human race has been transported to the realm of the dragon Shenron by our allies – I guess it's our new headquarters for the time being."

"Oh. . ." Novus reflected, still uneasy. "But even so, the whole planet. . . And with no Dragon Balls you can't bring it back."

"It was a necessary sacrifice. You know Chronus better than any of us – if we allow him to emerge he'll destroy a lot more than just one empty planet, and the only way for us to stop that was if you got involved."

Novus remained stunned; despite his lower physical power, Vardock's abilities and intellect still made him an invaluable asset. He'd thought this through and considered every alternative before choosing the path with the least loss for the universe. Earth was – admittedly – replaceable.

Where was Alpha though? Would he punish them for going behind his back, or had he failed to notice that the planet was empty? He hadn't shown up yet, so Novus prayed for the latter; if Alpha believed the human race to be extinct he'd stop trying to exploit it as a weakness for the other fighters.

"Stay vigilant. We'll still have to work together to get through this; it isn't over yet."

"As sad as it sounds, I never trained to fight alongside anyone other than myself," said Novus. Even amongst a team of twelve fighters she'd always been alone; her own captain never even knew her gender.

Vardock grinned. "Just follow my lead and open up that telepathic link again, he's coming."

"_Darkness Buster!_" called a voice.

"_Divine Blaster!_"

At the sound of a familiar attack Novus suddenly fired her own beam in retaliation. Gold and violet crossed as techniques inherited by two old gods clashed. Sparks of energy ricocheted from the ground, sending up wave after wave of dislodged rock formations into a whirlwind around the nexus.

_He's using Chronus's attacks, _said Novus. Even at her maximum power output she could only watch as her own considerable ray of energy was slowly pushed back by the opposing force. But whilst Duodecimus was occupied, Vardock closed in for the kill.

Being locked in a beam struggle left the captain wide open for an attack. He'd changed and grown in even more power since they last saw him, but a two footed, speeding torpedo kick from Vardock still managed to do some damage. Just one knock in concentration allowed Novus to get the upper hand; Vardock took cover as her beam engulfed Duodecimus a second time.

Dust settled and raging torrents of water flowed to a still, but even after two direct blasts Duodecimus still stood. He took off out of the smoke to chase his foe, and without resorting to precognition Vardock was saved pre-emptively.

"_Divine Shackles!_"

Ringlets of energy from the golden-haired beauty suddenly encased each limb of her former captain. His wrists and ankles snapped together painfully as he fell to the ground, leaving enough hang-time for Vardock to do his worst in a flurry of savage attacks.

All the struggling and brute force in the world wouldn't free Duodecimus from his cuffs. Realising this quickly, he instead opted to send out a shockwave of energy, dispelling the technique and knocking Vardock away in the blast.

Fortunately Novus had already tagged in. With fists aflame she rushed into the fray just in time for Duodecimus to increase the gravity and retreat. Alone and airborne she hovered for a while, surveying her surroundings, searching for the opponent.

_Above_.

Once the saiyan voice in her head spoke Novus decided to trust it entirely. Without stopping to look the Vicis arched her body, and then uncoiled like a hydraulic spring as Duodecimus's shadow grew atop her head. Once her uppercut made contact Novus felt her hair drenched in spittle.

Her fist drove straight into the stomach of her foe, the punch being so effective that the impression of her hand protruded from the back of the man she once called a leader. Novus followed through for the finishing blow, although once again a brief jump in the atmosphere slowed her attack, ensuring the man's escape.

_Left_, Vardock instructed.

Again Novus did as she was told; this time her first kick collided with the twelve o'clock's head so hard that he ricocheted away like bowling pin. Time after time he pursued her, on each occasion a different angle. In every instance Vardock spoke up, warning Novus of his exact location a fraction of a second before he appeared; he'd rarely experienced teamwork this effective before.

"_Super Bladed Thunder!_"

_Dodge it! That one's dangerous!_

But Novus didn't need the caution. Already she leapt away in a knee-jerk reaction upon hearing the same technique her old colleague Seni employed. Being a part of Chronus now meant that Duodecimus could use a wide variety of attacks; every signature move the Vices utilised originally came from that monster – all of them save for hers.

Black lightning toasted the sky where she'd stood a moment ago as Novus fled for safety. During the commotion she heard Vardock scream something in her mind, though she failed to register it as a whip cracked beneath her.

Here was a move Novus had never seen before; the Vices of higher rank held their abilities close to their chest, but this one almost certainly belonged to Unidecimus. She dodged the first lash of the green energy whip, although the second snaked around her ankle and tightened to such extremes she feared her foot might tear off.

Instead Novus was led by the rope around her leg on a painful rollercoaster as Duodecimus took delight in slamming her about the planet. Her small, unblemished form careered into countless masses of solid earth, swamp and rock, breaking them on bare skin. She tasted blood in her mouth and felt her eye and arm swell when she hurtled through a small forest.

Novus was on the verge of losing consciousness when her saviour finally acted. After weighing up the options Vardock fired an expertly formed Riot Javelin straight into the hand of the stationary Duodecimus. The pain was slight – a touch of blood from his palm – but in that fleeting instant the brute lost hold of his emerald whip.

"_Divine Sickles!_" Novus reacted. Twin arcs of energy curved from her aura, crossing each other in an inescapable X-shape as they bore down Duodecimus. The eruption came as the purest white, a direct hit no doubt crippling the old captain and allowing Novus to gracefully fall back to the surface.

She clutched a broken elbow, one eye was a mess, and her previously virgin suit had gone from an unstained, holy white to being painted cuff to collar with the blood of three different fighters. Only in her very first confrontation with Raditz had she been injured so seriously, but it did little to hinder her taste for battle.

"Sorry you were so long up there. I had to think up of something to stop him that didn't involve me dying," said Vardock.

"It's fine, I should have been quicker," she said.

"Can you still fight?"

"Yes, but so can he." Novus pointed to the smoke.

Vardock followed the finger of his ally to see a silhouette forming in the mist. Aside from a hunch and some heavy breathing Duodecimus still stood on both feet, and Novus's blast had been amongst the most intense he'd ever seen. When the smoke cleared however, a very different scene played out to them.

The eyes of the old captain had rolled back into their sockets, as though possessed. He suddenly stood up to attention, rigid in spite of his injuries like a trained soldier.

"Thank you," his words were few – the final words of Duodecimus. He needed no elaboration; Vardock could already sense the dam beginning to crumble as Chronus reached full strength.

A single lanky arm suddenly sprouted like a repulsive growth from his chest, purple and toned with a bladed shoulder guard in black and crimson. That same black carapace then grew across his entire head as the transformation became spontaneous.

"Oh no. . ." Novus mouthed.

Again there came a sickening splat as Chronus's leg exploded out of the captain's waist, then another as his cape flared into existence. Only when the Six Star Dragon Ball became visible did he finally decide to speak: Duodecimus's voice was now gone entirely, replaced solely by a malicious rasp like sandpaper.

"_Yes! YES! You thought you could stop me. You thought you could end Duodecimus before I emerged, but no longer. A traitor and a saiyan! PERFECT! Come and get me! Come test yourselves against the true Dragon of Envy!"_

"Quickly," Novus turned to Vardock, desperately blocking out the voice she heard in her nightmares. "He's not all the way out yet – we can still end this. Unleash everything – whatever you have left. In one blow we'll finish him off before he has a chance to do any more damage here."

The saiyan nodded with a grin and began to charge up. "Better idea than anything I can think of! Just don't miss or we'll destroy the planet!"

Novus nodded in return, pooling all her strength into the palms of her hands to create a whirlwind of white and gold energy alongside Vardock's. Everything she had she devoted into one shot, even dipping into her own vital life energy to add more fuel to her final attack.

"_Mortals!_" cried Chronus. "_You should know by now! All your efforts are futile! NOTHING can kill me!_"

"He talks too much," grumbled Vardock.

Once every speck of energy was drained from either fighter they took respective poses; Novus pulled back both palms into a cup as Vardock held up a single hand, blue energy leaping from the tiniest cracks in his fist. Blue and white pooled across the dank swampland; the heavens opened up again in rays of light with Novus's power taking effect.

Vardock began the count. _Three, two, one. . ._

"_Divine Blaster!_"

"_Riot Javelin!_"

As a multi-coloured helix the two attacks twisted around one another, spiralling in a torrent of grass, rocks and fetid water as they made for Chronus, still developing piece by piece like a mutilated butterfly breaking free of its cocoon. He cried out when he saw the attack, and that same shout was drowned the moment he was swept away.

Novus watched as the explosion bloomed, awestruck by the destructive power until the saiyan pulled her down for cover. Vardock's actions were necessary though; a moment later that same eruption raged blue and white overhead like a freak weather storm. In her current state, even Novus acknowledged that the aftershock would've killed her.

For what felt like hours the devastation of their combined attack howled in the wind. Tufts of colour – residual energy – traced over the battlefield as the explosion slowly began to dissipate.

After a sudden jolt Novus suddenly felt a million times lighter. That at least gave her hope; Duodecimus's power had gone, returning the planet to a tame level of gravity. In these conditions her power began to return slowly but surely as Vardock deemed it was safe to stand.

The duo stood to a waste-laden land. Fallout from their attacks sprang up in chaotic jolts all about the battlefield, and at the core a smog of dust claimed the mile wide crater they left. Had it been enough though? The planet's gravity had returned to its normal state, but Novus still couldn't help but wonder whether their opponent was simply injured rather than dead.

"No. . ." Vardock dropped to one knee as despair and fatigue took hold. "That's not possible – after all that."

"I don't sense anything. You can see in there?" Novus asked.

"No, reach out further with your senses, you'll be able to feel it too," said Vardock, hopelessly grinding his teeth. "He's alive. We blew him apart pretty good, but he's in there still; he's just regenerating. And something tells me that when he pulls himself back together he won't be too pleased with us. We've got a few minutes Novus, better say your prayers."

Novus sighed in weary exhaustion, panting until an idea suddenly struck her. It was risky, but with Chronus momentarily out of the way, it was possible at least. "Vardock, get out of here," she began. "Get to your ship as quick as you can and fly as far away as possible."

Vardock turned to the Vicis and shook his head. "No way. I already went through this once with Vegeta; I'm not just running off and leaving you to die. You're no match for Chronus – you'll be cannon fodder!"

"I won't," said Novus, calm as ever.

"You really think you can destroy him? By yourself?" the saiyan demanded.

"Destroy him?" she said. "No. Neither of us could destroy something like him, but I can do something much, much worse. Go Vardock, there isn't much time. Saiyans can't survive in the vacuum of space can they?"

Vardock lifted an eyebrow, uncertain of the implications. For all his gifts the saiyan fusion could not read minds – her plan eluded him. Whatever the case, she seemed sure of herself – as though she _knew _she could win with whatever trick she had up her sleeve. Novus had trusted him this far, so he decided to follow her example.

The saiyan turned around as he reverted back to his most basic state. Before setting off he looked back over his shoulder. "We've lost a lot of good men in this war already," he reflected. "Make sure we don't lose the last woman fighter on the team. Come back alive Novus."

The Vicis returned his look and nodded, smiling warmly for the first time the battle began. "I'll be alright Vardock. See you in a few minutes."

With her final reassurance Vardock took off, leaving Novus poised on the battlefield, staring into the mist where Chronus was beginning to reform. She watched him leave over the horizon line, over to where his ship lay. She even waited until he was on board before beginning the process.

Her arms suddenly snapped up to a pose, fingers outstretched as she began a technique. What little energy she'd recovered Novus used; this ability required only a little ki at the best of times.

Before her a portal sprang into being. It swirled, black and violet, convulsing like a living thing. The gateway showed a glimpse into a world she wished to forget, of a barren canyon shadowed by the constant presence of a towering onyx spire. In order to defeat this opponent, she needed to go there one last time.

* * *

Being a powerful born and bred fighter, Vardock had no idea how noiseless and unimpressive the total annihilation of an entire planet could really be. As Capsule Six left the world's atmosphere the saiyan watched from the bay window, still worried about Novus whilst all hell broke loose below.

The entire ordeal lasted seconds, and the whole time Vardock felt nothing from it - not the tiniest flicker of energy. One moment a dark splodge appeared on the planet's surface; it got continually wider and wider until without a sound it swallowed the entire planet, crumbling it under the pressure before absorbing even the dust it left behind. Once it was all over the planet had been replaced by a giant vortex – a mass of distorted space that absorbed anything in its range.

It took Vardock a few seconds to realise he'd just witnessed the birth of a black hole.

He carried on watching, putting his senses on full alert for any sign of the number nine Vicis. After all her promises Novus had gone and died – there was no trace of her life force anywhere.

That was, of course, until it suddenly zapped back into the universe behind him. He whirled around, disbelieving until he saw her for himself, still wearing that same smile she left him with.

"Alright what was that?" he wasted no time unloading questions. "What just happened? Did you kill him? I don't feel him anywhere but-"

"It's alright Vardock, he's no danger to anyone anymore," she began.

"What the hell does that even mean? Is he gone or not?"

Again Novus sighed; this would take some long explaining. "It's simple really. Do you know the story of Chronus?"

Vardock shrugged, having done his homework on it a while back. "Sure – refresh my memory though."

"Long ago, for his deceit, his hatred and his jealousy, Hyperion condemned his younger brother to a life of exile amidst a small, barren dimension, far away from every life form in this world and the next." Novus sat down, closing her eyes. "It's the place where me, and all the other Vices, were born."

Vardock poured himself a glass of water and handed a second to Novus. He sipped, enthralled as he too sank into the couch.

"Around that dimension Hyperion placed a strong protective barrier so that Chronus could never escape. Small things can slip through the barrier – Vynuls and other creatures weak in energy – but nothing of any substantial power can pass through it. It takes a vessel like the Room of Spirit and Time to punch into that dimension, and there aren't any more of those floating around.

"The stronger Vices – myself and the three above me – could create portals to and from that dimension, if only to allow the Vynuls to enter your world. Just now, I created such a portal, but I didn't give it a shape or stability, and so it sucked in everything around it: Chronus, the Vynuls and everything else on and including that lifeless planet."

"Hang on," Vardock paused as his heart skipped a beat; part of this story didn't make sense. "So you sent him back to his own dimension?"

"Correct."

"But you just said only Vynuls and small creatures could go through the barrier; Chronus should've been way too powerful," Vardock surmised.

"True, but I studied under Hyperion. I understand that barrier better than any. It was no impressive feat to adjust it, let the portal sweep the regenerating Chronus inside and then readjust it before his body could reform. I also strengthened it – not even Vynuls can escape from there now."

The saiyan scratched his chin. The plan seemed sound enough, but leaving Chronus alive still didn't rub well with him. Novus sensed his misgivings.

"You needn't worry Vardock. He was imprisoned there for countless millennia – since long before saiyans were even amoebas. A wicked soul like his could never comprehend or destroy that holy barrier that Hyperion erected, and there are no more inter-dimensional vessels this time to rescue him; he destroyed the Room of Spirit and Time himself. What's more, only Hyperion and I know the dimension's location. Alpha himself couldn't find it if he searched for centuries."

"You really thought all this through didn't you?" asked Vardock, finally allowing a smile. "Nice work Novus. I only wish I could see the look on his face when he realises you've imprisoned him for all eternity again."

"He's no threat anymore. He might rebuild, create more Vices and so on, but he can never cross back over. The only thing he can do now is watch from afar in fury, as the rest of us take down Alpha for good."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: POW and there goes Chronus! I figured I'd actually think up of a smart way to end this one instead of the usual DBZ shtick. Not that there's anything wrong with the big comebacks, I just thought I'd mix it up a bit.

Also, in writing this chapter I realised something – something awful. Literally the worst mistake I have ever made in my time of writing anything. How I could make such a giant fuck up is beyond my comprehension, but nevertheless I did it anyway. Ready for it? Here goes:

"_The redheaded woman, no older than thirty, embodied everything a female should've been_." Dragon Ball AF: The Room of Spirit and Time Saga – "Chapter 21: Honourable Foe"

That's right folks: somehow, between the first and second Dragon Ball AF, I actually forgot what colour Novus's hair was.

Even for me that's bad – why the hell did I start writing her as blonde at the beginning of Alpha Tour? Well shit happens I guess. She went to a salon and dyed her hair in Otherworld in those three years. Or it just represents her becoming more similar to Hyperion. Pick whatever crappy explanation you want and it's canon! xD Anyway. . .

. . . . . . .

**_Prepare yourselves._**


	25. Chapter 25 The Last Shadow Dragon

Chapter 25: The Last Shadow Dragon

As Bulma Briefs made her way down the similar-looking hallways of the dragon's dimension she felt an air of importance. Assistants with clipboards gave her frequent nods and often some stopped her for information. Keeping the entire human race alive was something the fighters did, but managing them all, keeping them fed and overseeing any problems came down to Bulma.

In the end only the core communications hub of Capsule Corporation had been saved. Important buildings and monuments had been transported for future rebuilding, but save for a few key artefacts little remained of what had once been Bulma's home city. Yesterday, she was told, what remained of Earth had been destroyed by Alpha.

Such a blow was crippling yet came as little surprise. If they hadn't acted sooner the evil dragon would've wiped out their entire race in one fell swoop. The Z-Fighters kept the knowledge in their own little circle; being a whole dimension away meant the rest of humanity had no way of knowing, and to tell them would only bring widespread panic. They'd blame Goku and the others for failing them, when in actuality they were lucky to be alive at all.

The sound of a phone suddenly interrupted Bulma's train of thought. She sighed; the control room was a fair trek along boring grey corridors – they'd have to start without her. As she stomped past more men in lab coats the ringing stopped. Trunks and Goten must've answered. Bulma quickened her pace at the thought; another argument was bound to break out.

After a whole five minutes she eventually reached the central hub, a room made of countless screens surrounding a single leather chair. Trunks was already slouched into it, but with a loud cough from Bulma he quickly scarpered, leaving Goten to his quarrel.

In the beginning each widescreen displayed a pair of Z-Fighters. Now that their numbers had dwindled however, most remained blank as they continued to ring out. Goku had gone and Pan was dead, as were Gohan, Krillin and Tien. Uub was still unconscious after his ordeal in transporting everyone, and Trunks and Goten remained here.

As a result only two sets of fighters had picked up their phones. Piccolo occupied one screen, although the other was made up of two people Bulma had never seen before. Closer inspection proved that the first was in fact a fusion of Vardock and King Vegeta, although the second was a mystery woman, lean and pensive in her clear white outfit.

Just as before, an argument had already broken out. Trunks had agreed to let the whole thing drop, but Goten hadn't.

"I still can't believe you did that – without telling any of us you went and let the Earth get blown up!" he yelled.

"Don't confuse my choice with an impulse boy!" said Vardock. "I made a rational decision based on what I thought was best for us. I couldn't handle Chronus by myself – not in a million years – hell, I doubt any of us could! If Novus hadn't intervened then he would have been brought back into the world. Countless planets would've been destroyed – entire civilisations wiped out like my own race was. I thought one _empty_ planet was an acceptable loss to prevent that from happening!"

Goten clenched his fists, seething in anger at the feeling of being talked down to like a child once again. "And who are you to make that call? You don't know what Earth meant to everyone!"

"I know exactly how losing a planet feels boy, don't you dare insult me by suggesting that I don't," warned the fusion, equally annoyed by Goten's naivety. "One day – when your dad is gone – you'll have to take on these responsibilities as well. You'll have to make tough calls that only people with your kind of power can make. Goku understands that."

"Don't talk to me about my dad! He would've found a way to save it!"

"_Your dad isn't here!_" boomed the saiyan, spittle spraying the camera as Bulma jumped back in fear. She quickly judged that combining those two into one fighter only doubled their collective stubbornness; even if he was right on the subject, he didn't handle it well.

"Goten," offered Piccolo, a shade calmer, "I know it's hard to accept, but Vardock made the right call. There was no other way; if I were in his place. . . I can't say I would've acted any differently."

The half-saiyan made a huff of denial and turned his back. Accepting the truth would be hard, but in time Bulma figured he'd come around. She knew it was difficult for him; in just a few short weeks those he'd come to depend on had disappeared. Gohan fell by the hands of Cell and Goku raced off to challenge Alpha as soon as the dragon pushed him too far. Only Trunks held him together now.

Finally the newcomer decided to speak. Soft and calmly, the woman – who Bulma figured was 'Novus' – gave her input to the young man. "Chronus had to be stopped at all costs. I truly am sorry about your planet Goten."

"Sure, whatever," he mumbled.

"But what bothers me is something else," Novus began. She turned to Vardock beside her as she prepared to speak her mind. "What did Duodecimus mean when he referred to Chronus as the 'Dragon of Envy'? It seems a strange title to bestow on oneself."

Vardock nodded in agreement. "I noticed that too. I think each of the fighters took on a name of one of the seven deadly sins. Broly mentioned something about having the strength of Wrath, and Duodecimus himself spoke of Frieza as the Dragon of Greed. Seven dragons and seven sins – I suppose it fits."

"Seven deadly sins?" Novus tilted her head, clearly perplexed by the term despite being a celestial guardian.

"It's something in human religious lore," Piccolo explained. "I guess Alpha wanted a little irony to his great war – destroying humanity with their own fables. I don't know what they are exactly, but I think we might be able to piece them together now."

"So Chronus was Envy, Frieza Greed and Broly Wrath." Vardock counted off his fingers.

"We all watched that fight between Gohan and Cell – I seem to recall Gohan mocking him for being the Dragon of Lust," said Piccolo.

"Oh yeah, Buu was the Dragon of Gluttony!" Trunks said, thinking back to his rematch with the demon as the unstoppable Gotenks.

"That sounds about right," agreed Piccolo. "And I recall from my own battle that Baby was Sloth – the freak who sits back and lets the people he's infected do all the work for him."

"So that's six in total." Vardock started on his second hand, and then stopped for a grimace. "What's the seventh sin?"

An eerie silence claimed the conversation as each fighter racked their brains for an answer. Every single one of them had some reason for not knowing: Vardock, Piccolo and Novus weren't clued in enough about human lore to recite all seven from memory; Goten on the other hand rarely studied and Trunks took little interest in religion.

It seemed suitable then, that the only person to get the answer was the only non-fighter. The realisation hit Bulma like a saiyan attack. Spirit broken in an instant, she sank to the floor in a heap, barely feeling a thing as her knees made hard contact with the solid surface.

Trunks caught her in his arms, the look of fear evident on his face. "Mother what is it?" he asked. "What's the last sin?"

Bulma tried to croak out an answer, though a river of tears stopped her before she could speak. After a few deep breaths she composed herself, speaking in a series of quavering hiccups. "The only one of the seven for which there's only one suitable candidate. . ."

"What? Tell us!" demanded the namek.

The woman buried her hands in her hair and looked to the floor. As silence passed an atmosphere built, rising and rising until Bulma dropped the final bombshell.

"_Pride._"

* * *

_Whatever's happening back there, I need to keep moving forward_. Sensing the chaos of the last few days, Goku moved to new speeds as he zipped through the void of space like a stray asteroid.

Stars whirled overhead in a blur; colours he never knew existed were smeared in giant strokes around him, forming glittering nebulas and ending in rocks as old as life itself. It looked pretty to Goku; often it was hard to keep focused on flying his fastest with so much going on around him. As he pursued Alpha further though, the abundance of colour shrank into pure darkness once more.

With the device strapped to his wrist working perfectly the saiyan had no worries about the harsh, airless atmosphere that surrounded him. Years ago flying in space felt strange – alien even – but as time passed he'd grown more and more accustomed to the idea.

Having no fear of the void meant Goku had only his thoughts to keep him occupied. On the verge of the universe itself, the saiyan couldn't feel a thing from any system he'd visited before, although the occasional great surge of energy reached his senses. Each time he felt fear – fear that one of his friends or family had fallen prey to the clutches of some Shadow Dragon.

For all he knew every single one of them could be dead by now. Although the reality was hardly far from the truth, the idea that there might be at least _something_ left to defend spurred Goku on. He'd fight until everything he held dear had been taken from him.

In time the saiyan reached what he assumed to be his destination. Alpha's energy signal was within range, just within the confines of some absurd phenomenon.

A web of some tangible substance spread out before him – a mess of interlinked chunks comprised of nothing but primary colours. Helix shapes and honeycombs and translucent domes twisted in one giant network before him, linked by smaller strands that bridged any gaps between the arrays of mismatched shapes.

As Goku closed in he realised this went on for as far as the eye could see. The angled grid of paths and slanted surfaces would make for an interesting battleground, but first its stability needed testing. The saiyan touched down on the first chunk – a yellow corkscrew shape that coiled around itself.

To half his surprise the surface remained stable, but whatever substance made it up he could not say. Even Bulma wouldn't know where to begin, for this was farspace, the point where the known universe itself came to an end. Beyond here there was no life as far as anyone knew. The system of assorted shapes simply stretched on for lightyears on end – possibly forever.

Feeling confident, Goku crouched and drove a fist into the surface. It cracked like old icing on a cake, giving way to some thick yellow gunk which the saiyan had to wipe from his hand. He then stood as a quick scan of his senses alerted him; Alpha was close – barely a few minutes away by his reckoning. With newfound determination flooding him again Goku set off into the endless web.

Flying was made a pain. Having to constantly adjust his angle to duck under a narrow bridge or weave over obstacles became a challenge quickly. What spooked Goku the most however was the cold, dead lifelessness of farspace.

Aside from Alpha's energy and his own, Goku could sense no trace of energy for as far as his range allowed – not a single shred. The columns of blue and red and yellow gave off nothing either; the whole place was a sensory graveyard, and not just for ki readings.

Normally the stream of an asteroid, the patter of a distant meteor shower or the slow sizzling of a star could be heard in space. Here silence took its reign alongside barrenness. Nothing moved either – in fact the lack of any motion was prone to make Goku twitch whenever his aura flared.

Things continued in this way until finally the saiyan noticed a figure. He stopped and landed to study the man from afar, who quietly leaned against the crook of a vivid red bridge, staring out into the infinite sea of shapes. It took a few moments for Goku to realise it, but the figure he saw was one all too familiar. Three whole years had been and gone; so much time had elapsed since Goku last saw his friend that he nearly forgot himself in the excitement.

"_Vegeta!_" he cried aloud. He flew over and the saiyan prince turned his head, his normally cool expression showing a welcome grin.

"Well if it isn't Goku. I should've known you'd be out here, old friend," he said gruffly.

Goku touched down to join his comrade's side. The saiyan narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a moment before sinking back into his childish reaction. "Boy am I glad to have you back!"

"You don't say. I hate to admit it, but something tells me this 'Alpha' will be more than either of us can handle alone."

"So you're out here looking for him too? It's strange, I didn't sense your energy," said Goku.

"I was masking it." Vegeta's eyes darted around the void, twin searchlights made of coal. "But so is he."

"Yeah." Goku agreed. He scratched his head and made a sullen face. "I was tracking him up to here, but now there's no sign of him."

"Well stay vigilant. This place is a maze – he could attack us from anywhere," said the prince.

The saiyan hero nodded, thinking back. "I fought with him back on Taulos. Looks like he can appear in any place at any time. He's strong too; he kicked me about like a punching bag the moment our last battle started."

"The kind of opponent that makes your saiyan blood boil, am I right? I can feel it now – I haven't had a good fight in years," muttered Vegeta, sparing a grin.

"I know what you mean. It's exciting just knowing he's this close," Goku confessed.

Like a true saiyan warrior Goku's adrenaline began to soar at just the prospect of such a strong fighter. In the past he resented it; having fun when the world was at risk just seemed wrong, but in recent years he'd come to understand that he was actually _better _when he gave in to those saiyan inhibitions. He couldn't save anyone if he was holding back.

A jolt from Vegeta suddenly jerked Goku back to the present. The saiyan prince had found something. He peered towards a distant shape formation and furrowed his brow, dropping into a combat stance as he pointed with a wave of his hand. Naturally, Goku followed the direction of his fingers, and Vegeta took a step back.

Goku had always always dense, but he wasn't _that_ dense. Fortunately genuine intelligence and combat knowledge were two different things, and the saiyan had no shortage of the latter.

A shockwave shattered all the nearby shapes as Goku powered up to his maximum Super Saiyan 5 and turned into a block. Just as he expected, Vegeta had already reciprocated, transforming early and coming down hard on him with a savage right hook. If he'd waited any longer to power up, Goku figured his head would be rolling.

A short burst of energy broke the lock between the two, sending them soaring to opposing paths of blue and red formations. No longer did Vegeta look poised and ready for battle. Instead a wretched grin was plastered across his face, a sneer characterised by only one man. Goku's theory was confirmed as the normally turquoise eyes of the saiyan prince warped to an opaque shade of red – the eyes of an Eternal Dragon.

"And here I thought I could end it all in one move," Vegeta said, sighing briefly. "It's a shame really. What gave me away?"

"I've known Vegeta for a long time, and not once have I _ever_ heard him call me by my Earth name. . . He wouldn't call me 'Goku' if his life depended on it."

"Mmm, so that was it? I should've known."

"Enough already!" Goku raised a fist. "What have you done with Vegeta? Get out of his body!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that. At least, not until he's given me enough of his energy," he said, sniggering in unbound joy.

Goku curled an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

The saiyan continued to watch as Alpha Vegeta's sneer slowly gave way to roaring laughter. The dragon's eyes grew bloodshot in mania, his tongue sticking out in a fashion so unlike Vegeta that Goku began to wonder if there was anything left at all of his old friend. He had to remind himself that this was just another opponent – another obstacle to overcome. Yet with his friend at risk, fighting him would prove difficult.

"You see," Alpha Vegeta went on. "At the moment of my coming into this world, I had an extraordinary amount of negative energy at my disposal. Naturally, I used it to revive and give a boost to the most despicable, wretched creatures in the universe to be my allies."

Goku listened, following the details closely now that Alpha had his attention.

"But like with most things, I was rather. . . Overenthusiastic. . . With my little project," explained the dragon. "I used up too much power, meaning my own form was crippled and weak in comparison to the others. So I searched for a vessel, one whose negative energy I could feed off for my rebirth. Already being a pure embodiment of pride, Vegeta was the obvious candidate."

"So you stole his body," Goku filled in the blanks, temper fraying with Alpha's every sentence. "That still doesn't answer my question – where's Vegeta now?"

"Oh, he's in here." Alpha shrugged. "Somewhere," he added. "Not that it'll do you any good. The fool is trapped deep in his own mind – an endless void where time flows out of synch with the rest of the world. Even if you could somehow reach him, his spirit would be broken after so many centuries of solitude; then he'd have to get past me."

Goku trembled in quiet rage. The pillars of lightning about his aura danced in a spectacular show of sparks. "_You. . ._"

"Oh but that's not the best part!" Alpha interrupted him. "As your living friends have no doubt discovered, I used this technique to implant Chronus into his captain. And – as your _dead _friends are probably discovering right now – Duodecimus never reached Otherworld."

"_What did you say?_" Goku's heart stopped in his chest.

"Once I gather up all the energy I need and break free of this vessel, I will cease to be a part of Vegeta." Alpha loosed a wicked smirk as he delivered the kicker. "Rather, _Vegeta _will become a part of _me_."

"_You monster!_" A shout broke free from Goku as the impression of energy surrounding him exploded in anger, the flames deepening to a darker shade of red. "I'll _never _forgive you for this Alpha!" The saiyan continued to increase his power, skyrocketing past his normal limits due to an emotional frenzy. It took all his restraint to stop himself flying at the foul creature.

Alpha Vegeta merely licked his lips in anticipation. "Well well, it seems you managed to increase your power at least. This should be interesting."

"Just answer me one thing: _how long_ Alpha? How long has it been since you made Vegeta a puppet for your amusement?"

"From the very beginning – since before he came back from the dead I managed to take root in his mind." The dragon took a stance and let his own power flare up, quickly answering the saiyan's question. The energy that covered him was shrouded in darkness; acidic black power formed a silhouette about his form, dripping like a faulty tap to melt the stems of farspace. "Recognise _this_ form?" he asked again.

The saiyan knew it immediately – how could he forget it? It was the same form Alpha had taken when he confronted Goku and Piccolo on the planet Taulos. All that time he'd been using Vegeta's body, and never for a second had Goku even considered it.

Alpha suddenly disabled the wreath of shadow, returning to his previous form of the enslaved Vegeta. He sighed as he went on, "But it's troublesome to keep up that show all the time. Besides, it's much more fun fighting you when I get to see that expression on your face every time you raise a fist to your comrade."

Goku growled, silently admitting Alpha was probably right. When Vegeta had been taken over by Baby, fighting him wasn't so hard; with the white hair and strange red circuitry running up his face, Baby's final form bore very little resemblance to the saiyan he'd captured. Fighting Alpha would be tougher – eyes notwithstanding, he looked exactly like the man Goku had fought countless battles beside. Even his voice was a perfect mimicry.

"Vegeta wouldn't want to be kept prisoner by something like you," Goku suddenly realised. "If I can't free him. . . For his sake – even if it's the last thing I do, _I'll kill you_."

The dragon laughed once more. With the full power of a Super Saiyan 5 in addition to his own energy at his disposal – as well as the unlimited sea of farspace to fight upon – this would be a battle to remember. "Oh this is going to be _so _much fun," he resolved.

* * *

Raditz was half way through wolfing down a saiyan-sized meal when a startlingly white comet flying by the window made him jump. The power that thing gave off was absurd; it rivalled even his own. As he stretched out his senses the saiyan tried to recall who it belonged to, concluding that it belonged to no other than the legendary Hyperion.

Fortunately the age-old god seemed to realise his folly, as a few moments later he reappeared, having only just realised he'd flown past a valuable ally. Floating casually in the void of space, Hyperion knocked on the window of Capsule Six and mouthed something to the saiyan. Though he couldn't read lips, Raditz figured he wanted to come in.

Strapping on Bulma's handy device, Raditz headed over to the airlock and pushed a few buttons. Once he was sure the machine worked he punched a final red one, allowing a whole thick cloud of steam to vent from the main door. He felt weightlessness for a few moments as Hyperion slipped through the doorway.

The old god touched down, recognising Raditz immediately before the blast door slammed shut behind him. The saiyan released a sigh and unbuckled the device as the gravity returned to normal.

The clockwork whirring of the half-dead ship seemed alien to Hyperion. He glanced around, clearly disturbed that the universe's greatest fighters were so dependent on technology. Sparks cackled from exposed wires and ripped-up tiles made it necessary to watch where one stepped. Just yesterday Raditz's foot fell through one of the barren patches of flooring, only to have all the lights switch off for several hours.

"I take it that you too are heading for Alpha." Hyperion wasted no words for greetings. "I doubt either of us would be a match for him, but if we can lend our power to Goku's then perhaps we may yet win."

Raditz nodded glumly. He'd come so far in a hurry, and yet he'd never actually stopped and considered what he'd do once he get there. Could he really bring himself to fight and destroy Alpha? After what he'd seen, part of him doubted his nerve.

"It's worse than you might think," the saiyan replied. "Alpha has taken over control of Vegeta. I don't know how or why he's done it, but regardless, going up against him won't be easy."

Hyperion stopped, suddenly remembering the valiant fighter who'd sacrificed his life for them three years ago. "Vegeta?" he made sure.

Raditz only nodded again. "I didn't tell Novus. It's a saiyan affair and I didn't want to worry her, but in a few hours you'll see him for yourself, so I figured I'd give you a fair warning."

"Vegeta. . ." Hyperion repeated the name, absently musing to himself in a grave soliloquy. "I remember the first time I met the man. We spoke only briefly, but his whole persona was something I couldn't understand. My family – myself included – we saw morality in black and white: purity was good and corruption was bad."

The saiyan agreed, seeing immediately where Hyperion was going with his point.

"Vegeta didn't conform to those rules. I couldn't comprehend how a man with so much pride and anger could be on our side. I hate to confess it, but I mistrusted him right up until the moment he saved the entire universe."

"It takes a while, but he grows on you eventually," said Raditz.

"Aye. I only wished I'd realised his virtues sooner," Hyperion lamented, careful with his sword as he leaned against the wall. "All his passion, his detachment and his cunning in battle – they're assets that outweigh all his flaws. . . And his determination to continue fighting is quite possibly the most remarkable thing I've ever seen from any kind of fighter, bar Goku of course."

Raditz couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he closed his eyes; Hyperion hit the nail right on the head. With the god's puzzled expression boring into him he elaborated, "That spirit of his, it's really something isn't it? In fact, it's the only reason I'm still alive right now."

* * *

One Week Ago

Beating Frieza was perhaps the single greatest achievement of Raditz's fighting career, but also his most stupid by far. He lay there in a heap of his own blood, Kaio-Ken injuries preventing him from any kind of movement as a green flash marked the sky. Energy from some foul creation consumed the planet, and in that moment the saiyan knew Alpha had arrived to finish him off.

Three minions wielding cannons – remnants of Frieza's regime – still pointed their weapons at him as they traded looks of terror. Their guns were as useless as pea-shooters to the dragon overlord, and with their collective fear they posed little threat to the crippled saiyan now.

Another flash, this one even brighter than its predecessors, lit up the eclipsed atmosphere so suddenly that the trio before him shook in fear. The light marked the appearance of its creator, a man who wore shadows and darkness like a cloak, with tiny dewdrops of the stuff dripping from his body and scorching the ground as if it were molten lava. He was exactly as Piccolo had described: a being with a rather muscular frame whose features – if he had any - were hidden behind the veil of shadow that he wore.

The three survivors traded looks of terror before blindly rushing at the man out of hysteria. By the time they came within just a few paces they were already dead. He didn't even have to lift a finger; once they entered the dragon's wispy aura of vapour-based shadow the three simply fell to the ground and crumbled to dust. Lesser beings could not even stand in this creature's presence.

". . . _Alpha_," presumed Raditz, speaking from the flat of his back.

"That would be me!" jeered the dragon. He looked around before nodding in apparent satisfaction. "Quite a mess you've made of this place, just what I like to see!"

"Get on with it then," Raditz growled.

Alpha lifted his hand and waved two fingers, tutting in disapproval as he did so. "Hmm, now that's just rude. After all you _did _put on _quite_ a show. That was without a doubt my favourite so far Raditz! You should be proud!"

"I'm honoured. . . Now can we just get this over with?"

The dragon gave an exaggerated sigh before suddenly sparking up a blast of powerful black ki in his left hand. It was the kind that might mortally wound Raditz even when maxed out, but when powered down, paralysed and half-dead already there would be nothing he could do to survive here.

Alpha sniggered a childish laugh and licked his lips. "If you insist. Heheh, I suppose if I leave you here you'll die anyway, so finishing you here and now would be preferable wouldn't you say? Think of this as your reward for providing me with such entertainment."

Raditz said nothing in reply as the dragon made its way forward and loomed over him, blocking out all light like a bipedal form of the black spire of the Vices he'd breached so many years ago. The saiyan closed his eyes and braced himself for the end, thinking of all he cherished as the dragon reached its shrouded, energy riddled hand towards him.

_It's been fun while it lasted guys._

A scream then split the air, more horrific and painful than any Raditz had ever heard. He opened his eyes, blurry with nausea, only to see some unmistakeable tragedy take place before his eyes. He would've preferred it if this was just some cruel illusion, yet the vividness of the scene made it too convincing to be anything but reality.

The dragon's shadowed aura began to die, flickering off and back on rapidly like a faulty light bulb, and between every hypnotic flash Raditz caught a glimpse of what lay beneath. Vegeta fell to his knees, his roar of unbridled anguish sending ripples across the planet's surface. With both hands the saiyan clutched his head as the man inside drove him into a fit.

Vegeta's face met solid ground, and as he continued to scream Alpha's presence forced him back on his feet to repeat the process. Like a bellowing drunkard the prince wobbled about the clearing, balance lost as he diverted all his focus to exercising the creature within.

"_Get out of my head you freak!_" he cried. Black power gushed out of him again for a moment, and when he next changed back to himself Vegeta had risen to a Super Saiyan 5. It seemed it was all he could do to stave off his captor. "_RADITZ!"_ he barked suddenly, rage and desperation evident. "_Get out of here! AGHH!_" Pain shook through him again. "_GO!_"

But Raditz wasn't moving anywhere. After his ordeal with Frieza his Kaio-Ken had left him barely able to speak, let alone get up and walk. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a squeaky croak came out of him. When he saw this, Vegeta gritted his teeth and prepared for action.

The prince had pulled off many difficult things in his day, but Raditz suspected this was amongst his most testing trials yet. Keeping his sanity was all he could manage before, and yet in the knowledge that Raditz might die Vegeta somehow managed more. He shot a blast of his own untainted saiyan energy at the man. Goku's brother flinched before realising it was a small but potent volume of harmless ki, filling him with power enough to move.

Once he'd ensured Raditz's safety Vegeta wasted no time getting as far away as possible. He bolted away in a stream of energy; aquamarine flecked with bolts of black to paint a curve across the sky. Before long, Vegeta was out of sight. Raditz figured he was already off in deep space by the time he managed to get to his feet. He wouldn't waste this chance, not after Vegeta had worked so hard to keep him alive.

The moment Alpha reclaimed the prince's body he would seek to correct his mistakes, and at the rate Vegeta was deteriorating, that would happen any moment now. When that time came Raditz knew he needed to be as far away from here as possible.

With a groan of effort the saiyan began to walk. One foot in front of the other; he needed to get to the others, to tell them what he'd seen. If he didn't, then they risked destroying one of the universe's greatest protectors – for good this time. After crossing the great road to the Gates of Life already, Vegeta was ineligible for revival; if he died here then it was all over for him.

* * *

Present Day

"So that's what happened," Raditz concluded, reclining against the wall as a thin smile creased his lips.

"You think he's still in there?" asked Hyperion.

The saiyan fixed him with a dumbfounded expression. "Isn't it obvious? Weren't you listening? Of course he is! He's still fighting in there! If we can draw him out then there's a chance we can save him."

"Indeed, although that was a week ago. . . A whole week in his own mind, in addition to however long Alpha had him before that. I can't imagine anything worse – the sheer amount of time you'd experience would be unfathomable, even to someone who's lived as long as I have." Hyperion nearly shuddered as he considered that eternal limbo.

"But he came out!" Raditz insisted. "I could hear him – he was himself again! He saved me from Alpha!"

"When his mind surfaces, all that time will dissolve," said Hyperion. "But it's unlikely he'll ever surface again. Alpha will have total control over him now; he's probably doubled his hold over Vegeta's mind after that whole affair."

"But if he can hear us then surely-"

"Even if your voice could reach him now – a task which by itself is almost impossible – he wouldn't remember who you were. He wouldn't remember anything. He'd hear an unfamiliar voice crying out in his mind, not an encouraging word from an old friend."

Despite himself Raditz couldn't help but clench a fist. What did Hyperion know? He even admitted that he'd never seen a power like Vegeta's, so how could he sit there and be so negative? Raditz for one wouldn't give up, and if he knew Goku, neither would he. Whatever it took, they'd do everything in their power to get Vegeta out.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: At long last, my age-old, poor taste joke comes to an end: For once the One Star Ball isn't the namekian sea crab, the Para Para bros, General Blue, Appul, Ginyu the frog, Pui Pui, Garlic Junior, Raiti and Zaacro, blonde Launch, Mercenary Tao, Shu or even Bacterian, it's _Vegeta_. I'm so sorry, but this time I'm not joking – there could only be one Dragon of Pride D:

So, is there hope for him or not? I imagine most of you are backing Team Raditz over Team Hyperion, buuut it's hard to say what the reality is just yet. To make it a little clearer, Alpha used the same technique he used to break down and implant Chronus into Duodecimus in order to put himself inside Vegeta.

Most of you figured out that this was coming anyway. If you're _really_ observant (and have a good memory) then you might have also clocked on to the moment when Alpha possesses him:

"_Vegeta believed himself to be hallucinating when he saw a small flicker of light flash out of the corner of his eye. Quickly he jerked his head in its direction only to find it gone, though a half-second later he experienced what felt like a ferocious, perfectly connected kick slamming him in the chest, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing to the road below. _

_He hit the ground hard and rolled several times before slowing to a stop, and once he'd done so the Prince leapt back up to his feet, surveying the area for power levels. His eyes wandered the empty road and the skies above it as his mind scoped the air frantically, all to no avail._" Chapter 3 – Discuss and Deploy.

After this he keeps experiencing waves of bloodlust and a need for battle (more so than usual) up until the fight against Broly. Needless to say, this was Alpha taking hold of him. There's also this little part from Chapter 12 when Alpha confronts Goku and Piccolo on Taulos; he's described as:

"_Standing a few inches shorter than Goku and wide-shouldered__,_" Hmmm. . . Sound familiar?

Ahh. Foreshadowing is great, but payoff is so much better. Fortunately Alpha isn't the only person with an ability that's been foreshadowed for later use :D Anyway after this chapter, the Alpha Tour Saga is now officially longer than the Room of Spirit and Time Saga. Yay! It's got way less chapters, sure, although it's got a higher wordcount with still a fair bit to go. Will it top TROSAT's thirty-six chapters? Hard to say - it'll probably be a few chapters shorter, but it IS technically longer now.

Hope you enjoyed that little twist guys, until next time!


	26. Chapter 26 The Beginning of the End

Chapter 26: The Beginning of the End

Even going into the fight, Goku knew he'd have a challenge on his hands. This would be the most gruelling battle he'd ever take part in, and yet despite reminding himself constantly of that, it did nothing to prepare him.

Around smooth pillars of primary colours Goku was thrown, barely able to get the upper hand for more than a few moments before Alpha Vegeta turned the tables. Every time the prince took flight his body was aflame with a robe of darkness, his once vivid energy waves polluted with the mark of evil.

Having experienced it many times before, Goku could safely confirm that Vegeta's Royal Assault technique had gotten far more powerful in the last three years. Every ki-enhanced blow was a mallet, tenderising the saiyan's diamond-hard body as though it were an overripe fruit with each attack.

Three minutes into the battle and Goku was already exhausted; a great chunk of his energy was devoted purely to staying alive and what reserves he utilised for offense were wasted in the dragon's shadow. With Alpha's strength Vegeta was simply a notch up in every area – his energy potency, strength, speed and tactics bested the saiyan's at every turn, and any clever tricks Goku pulled out were transparent to the piercing eyes of Porunga.

Once, Goku found himself on the winning side for long enough to give him hope. After tasting blood in his mouth, he decided to match Vegeta's incoming kick with a punch of his own, gaining a lucky reprise when his longer reach permitted his attack to land first. He was as surprised as anyone else to win the exchange.

Not letting it go to waste, Goku met the face of his old rival with the brightest and most luminous Dragon Fist he had to offer. The golden visage of Shenron tunnelled Vegeta through countless breaking stalks of farspace goo before exploding in spectacular fashion at the end of its reach, dooming a stretch of the void to smoke and eternal nothingness.

Over the course of his fighting career the saiyan found that most of his enemies tended to either laugh or erupt into a fit of rage whenever he made a comeback. Alpha Vegeta did neither.

When the mist capered away he stood there still, slouched back with both hands forming a pillow for his head. A vague snigger was traceable, like he was mildly amused and truly cared little for whatever just happened.

Upon seeing this Goku's eyes grew wide in dread; even with charging time, there was little he could do beyond that much power. All that energy, and the total extent of his damage only amounted to some light scorching. Alpha's attacks were different; he wasn't exactly gentle with them, yet at the same time Goku could tell he was trying to avoid exerting himself too much. Even his half-hearted efforts never failed to colour the saiyan in purple and red.

If he unleashed everything at once Goku favoured his chances. At his current strength Alpha bested him by a margin, but a surprise attack using the saiyan's trump card would probably be enough to see him into oblivion. Goku, however, knew it would be foolish.

Alpha was just so calm, so smug and so confident for his current position. He _had _to be hiding something; otherwise such self-assurance would be mistaken. With the way he swaggered about, Goku felt he might have just been shown the tip of the iceberg. Vegeta's energy was simply his way of gathering firewood. The flames hadn't even been lit yet – the true Alpha still hadn't emerged, and yet still there was such a gap in strength between them.

As the battle wore on Goku finally began to get used to the pace of his opponent. He was still slower, but the longer the saiyan fought the more accustomed he grew to higher levels of power. The pair continued for a time; twin comets of orange and blue ricocheted across the web of farspace, each clash giving a thunderclap that shattered the nearby canes.

Normal eyes wouldn't see anything, only destruction and a few flashes. The speeds of a maxed-out Super Saiyan 5 were such that a pair of them could crash together, trade a dozen punches apiece and then fly apart for another run faster than the human eye could register.

Fortunately Goku's spectators were quite far from normal. As blue and orange bounced to and fro, laying waste to the net of colour in their wake, they were suddenly joined by a blood-coloured burst of red energy. The pair hopped away from it and landed simultaneously atop different shapes in the void. The red fighter touched down too, turning down the volume on his aura to put his features on display.

"Raditz!" cried Goku. Boyish joy filled him as for a brief moment he allowed himself to forget all pain. His brother was back, and to top it all off the elder had gone and ascended to a Super Saiyan 5. The prospect of fusion occurred to Goku, although without any of Popo's special elixir the phenomenon would last but a few moments. It mattered little; what counted was that Raditz was here, the ally and brother he hadn't seen face to face for three years.

"Hey Goku," he replied, looking up towards their foe. "It looks like I'm too late. I wanted to warn you about this."

"You knew?" Goku asked.

Raditz looked solemn as he nodded. "Yeah. But at least I can tell you this much; it isn't too late for him. We can still save him – he wouldn't let Alpha kill me."

Goku nodded back, his brow creasing as he fell back into a serious persona. "I figured as much. Vegeta's too stubborn to be controlled forever."

"_Pfft-HAHAHA!_"

Bemused looks crossed both brothers as they glanced back to Vegeta. He'd been trying so hard to contain a laugh that the thing burst from him like an explosion. With tears in his eyes the Dragon of Pride had to use the yellow column of the farspace stalk to hold himself up. He then doubled over, clutching his stomach as he collapsed to both knees, laughing in hysteria as if a joke kept coming back to him.

Goku and Raditz looked to one another. The same thought crossed their minds: that Vegeta would be beside himself with rage if he saw someone using his body to behave so undignified. Alpha began literally rolling about on the surface in a fit of giggles, a sight which, in Vegeta's body, almost made Goku crack a smile.

"Care to explain what's funny?" Raditz demanded.

"It's you – you saiyans! You're so _pathetic! _I mean look at you!"

Raditz bared his fangs in a snarl at being mocked, but Alpha carried on chuckling until his fit subsided.

"There really are no straws you won't clutch to! Hehh, if you knew what Vegeta has been through you wouldn't have a hope left. That little act of defiance was a whole week ago, but right now he's in far too deep to be saved. He's been stuck in nothingness for. . . Hell, even _I_ don't know how many years it's been."

"Yeah, Hyperion said the same thing." Raditz grinned slyly. "Well, my father always said I was a slow learner."

As Alpha took amusement in the saiyan's quip Goku noticed something amiss. The transformation wasn't the only thing different about Raditz; the second thing he noticed was the unsightly scar covering most of his brother's chest. Goku winced upon seeing it.

"Are you sure you should be fighting?" he asked. Telling a saiyan warrior to take it easy in a battle was amongst the most insulting things one could do, although Goku hardly cared for his race's tradition – his brother was wounded recently, that much was clear.

"Oh, this?" Raditz looked down and shrugged it off. "It's nothing. Doesn't hurt that much anymore, but I guess that's the price I paid for giving Frieza a second dose of saiyan vengeance."

"You got to fight _Frieza?_" cried Goku.

"Yup."

"Man. . ." Goku shook his head and looked to his boots in lament. "I beat him, Future Trunks beat him, and now you beat him! Vegeta won't be happy when he finds out he didn't get a shot."

"We might as well send Bulma after him the next time he comes back."

"Now that _would _annoy him."

If Alpha enjoyed one thing it was being at the centre of attention. Intercepting calls, addressing the nation, showing off his strength, destroying planets; he used any method he could to inspire fear and awe in his opponents. Being ignored then, was not something the dragon took kindly to. The idea that these two saiyans could be so offhand in the face of his strength annoyed him to no end.

Alpha Vegeta burst from the ground so fast that neither saiyan saw his feet leave the ground. In an instant he'd crossed the void of farspace, leading with a gut-busting fist that drove fountains of spittle from Raditz as the saiyan pitched forward, eyes spinning to their sockets in a momentary loss of consciousness. Sensing the danger, Goku's fingers tapped to his forehead.

The saiyan vanished, moving as only particles of light in a rush invisible to even the most powerful saiyan. The Instant Transmission had never failed him; it had been his trademark teleportation method since the day he learned it on Yardrat, and in all that time not a single adversary – not Omega or even Chronus – had been able to develop an effective counterattack.

At the hands of Alpha Vegeta though, the Instant Transmission was no match.

In one moment Goku was streaming in a haze of colours and warp-lines, and in the next he found himself back to normal, seized by the neck and held aloft by Vegeta's dextrous hand. It tightened around his throat, giving him barely enough time to register what just happened.

"Ahhhh, the Instant Transmission, capable of propelling the user at the speed of light," said Alpha. "A useful technique for sure – unless of course, your opponent can move faster than _that_."

If Goku hadn't experienced it for himself he never would've believed it, but the iron grip around his neck was proof enough. Alpha had actually _caught _him in the middle of an Instant Transmission – he'd plucked him out of the sky as easy as catching flies. In a single display of power, one of his most prized attacks was made useless.

Struggling under the pressure, Goku cast a sideways glance to catch Raditz, still reeled over at the force of Alpha's punch. In a few seconds he'd recover, but it would take less than that for Alpha to snap his neck. The saiyan flailed about, kicking and punching at random to release the lock. When that didn't work he tried to pry Vegeta's fingers from his neck, yet the prince's clutch was an immovable vice.

Just when Goku began to charge a Kamehameha wave, hope came from the heavens. Another fighter intervened, his aura of white and gold commanding the spectrum as he launched into the fray. Alpha Vegeta saw it and matched with his free tail, though at least the ensuing shockwave sent Goku and Raditz to safe distances.

After another burst of power Goku found himself in exactly the same stalemate position as before, only with a fourth fighter joining them. In a skewed diamond shape they each stood at ten metres apart atop separate surfaces – within range for any kind of attack. Goku stopped to inspect the newcomer.

"Hyperion! Long time no see!"

The old god gave a brief acknowledgement of the saiyan's presence as he continued to stare down his foe. A slow, drawn-out scraping noise filled the void as Hyperion freed his claymore from its scabbard, a decorated instrument of giant proportions as shiny and regal as his armour.

"What took you so long? Did I leave you behind?" joked Raditz.

"I merely lay in wait for the opportunity," said the man. Just as always, Hyperion's archaic speech made Goku pause for a few moments, just to translate it in his head.

"I hope you're not trying to kill him. I told you, that's Vegeta's body. You might not think we can save him but I do."

"I never said he couldn't be saved," Hyperion answered, running a hand down the length of his blade. "I just said he won't hear your voices."

"Oooh," whistled Alpha, cocking his head and sneering. It seemed he understood something Goku and Raditz didn't. "I know what you're trying to do now. Think you can reach me do you?"

"I know it."

Goku looked back and forth for a few moments before shrugging and resuming his stance. Three against one and the odds were now in their favour. Alpha may have been strong, but Raditz and Hyperion seemed to have gotten more powerful as well. It didn't take an expert to see it; their combined energy was almost his and a half.

Yet in spite of that knowledge Alpha remained cool, a staunch look of smugness plastered over Vegeta's face like a bad caricature.

Almost without thinking Goku took off, letting instinct take over. The golden impression of a dragon erupted from his fist, engulfing a walkway of red and blue as Alpha took flight. From evading he was met by Raditz. The dark-aura Super Saiyan intercepted, dishing out every new trick mastered within some kind of new Kaio-Ken.

Whatever it was, Goku thought it looked impressive. Wave after wave of fists left blurry afterimages in their wake, raining down upon Vegeta like a tirade of scarlet hellfire. After every blow was a loud thump, and as he finished hitting nothing but a mirage Raditz reared up his leg for a final attempt. When his foot reached the peak of its climb however, the shroud of energy fled him like a cloud carved apart.

"You're really not all that proficient with that technique yet are you?" Alpha sniggered.

After seeing the terror in Raditz's face Alpha Vegeta brought back a fist and smacked a giant haymaker to the cheek of his opponent. He then turned, folded his arms and hopped up just a few feet to ensure the lunging Hyperion soared right under him. In the chaos Raditz was nearly impaled, the old god's sword beaming a golden shine right by his side.

"_You trying to kill me?_" cried Raditz.

The saiyan's sentence was barely over when a boot careered into each of the cluttered fighters. With a two-footed kick Alpha slammed into both simultaneously, pouring out a world of pain before swirling in time to bat aside Goku's Dragon Kamehameha. The saiyan stopped, eyes bulging; he could've sworn Alpha was defenceless.

"Damn it!" Raditz swore as he pushed himself up. He dusted a flaky lump of blue from his stainless outfit. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

_Just try and get me an opening. _Goku looked around, confused by the sudden voice until he realised Hyperion was speaking inside his head.

Raditz spoke up. _You got a plan old timer?_

_I do not have time enough to explain. Can you do it?_

The two brothers traded looks, then after an eager nod, Goku replied, _Sure. _

_Then go._

After one more glance of excitement the two took off. As a pair they swarmed Alpha with as much speed as their bodies could muster. Thousands of punches were thrown down as the two switched turns in synch with the other, showing their foe no quarter with which to attack.

Even under pressure Alpha moved flawlessly though. In such a short space of time he'd managed to master Vegeta's body as though he'd lived in it his entire life. The subtle nuances and rhythm in his movements echoed Vegeta's, playing everything to the strength of his energy and build for a perfect utilization.

He made dodging look easy, hair swaying as he bobbed back and forth. In the few instances that he needed to defend, Alpha's left arm snapped up to absorb all the damage – just like Vegeta did. No matter how hard they tried landing a clean blow seemed impossible. The two threw punch after punch without success, hoping desperately for a lucky shot.

In the end Goku spied a look from his foe that struck fear; Alpha grinned in malice, like he was in on some secret. Goku slowed his pace, convinced he was about to attack until Vegeta vanished into thin air, speed quicker than that of light.

In his place rushed Hyperion. The old god had lunged in from behind, seeing a chance and hoping to catch Alpha unawares with a single thrust of his glowing blade. When Alpha disappeared however, the trio clashed once more, only this time with far worse consequences.

A sudden sensation washed over Goku like he'd walked through a ghost. In reality the truth wasn't far off, for when the saiyan looked down he found the edge of Hyperion's sword rammed clean through his stomach, its tip protruding from the small of his back. He heard Raditz cry out as fear took over; could he really be killed like this? The fight had barely started and he was already decommissioned by friendly fire.

As usual though, Goku was slow on the uptake. A whole five seconds of trembling dread passed before he realised there was no pain. He felt queasy and nauseas at being stabbed, but there was no agony – no blood either.

Alpha's childish laughter filled the void. His ruse worked even better than he expected; as far as he was concerned he'd just taken out his greatest threat without having to lift a finger. He seemed to be having difficulty breathing over the hysteria, tears flooding his eyes as he pounded his chest in amusement.

Hyperion removed the blade, and almost immediately Goku drew himself back up to full height. There was no wound, and Raditz and Alpha seemed just as confused as he was.

"A holy sword like this could never cut someone noble such as Goku!" declared Hyperion, pointing it back towards his foe. He allowed a few moments to pass as Alpha's expression sobered, before adding calmly to Raditz, "It probably would have killed you though."

"Hey!"

"Ahhh, interesting," said Alpha, clearly in awe. "Oh well, you can't fault me for trying."

Hyperion said nothing as he narrowed his eyebrows to a glare. Even after their stroke of luck, one glance at the man told Goku that something still troubled him. He seemed confused – curious even. Something had definitely piqued his interest. It wasn't until Alpha got back into position that he decided to speak up.

"Goku, I can't believe I failed to see it before. I'm right am I not? Inside you – you've got-"

"-Yeah, but keep it down," said Goku. He waited for Hyperion to turn his way before elaborating. "He's not using everything either. We need to wait until he does."

The god gave a warm smile. "It seems I underestimated you yet again Goku. We may yet win this."

"Huh?" Raditz's eyes darted to and fro between his two companions. "Someone wanna fill me in?"

"Later, he's coming," said Goku.

One quick movement put the saiyan back on full alert. Alpha hadn't moved from his spot, but instead he'd assumed a pose Goku knew all too well. Both his wrists snapped together, his fingers curled to a claw-shape as red sparks bounced from the surface of Vegeta's gloves. An energy ball then bloomed to life in his palms, an angry red and in danger of bursting with all the raw ki gushing from it.

"Oh, crap. . ." muttered Raditz.

It appeared as if only Hyperion had never seen this attack before. In seeing that both saiyans adopted defensive postures however, he decided to drop into one of his own.

The power radiating from Vegeta's hands became enormous; Goku thought he'd never felt anything that big, even the Universal Spirit Bomb he'd mustered up three years ago didn't compare. Such levels of power he once thought impossible, yet Vegeta's strength in addition to a Dragon Ball made it frighteningly real.

"_CRIMSON!_" he roared, "_OBLIVION!"_

In a matter of clicks the overwhelming force of Vegeta's attack bore down upon them like a tsunami. Goku held out his hands, as did Raditz and Hyperion, yet the sheer power of it still almost knocked all three of them from their feet.

It took everything to push back as the heat from the crimson beam scalded one side of the saiyan. Beside him he could see Hyperion barely holding his own end, his sword quavering under the pressure.

If he didn't act Goku feared the technique would consume them; light pooled across farspace and lit up half his body, subjecting him to a new sensation of suffering like no other. He'd received a Crimson Oblivion before, but nothing like this one. Goku was on the verge of using _it _when in the end another saiyan decide to bail them out.

"_Kanzen Kaio-Ken Times Two!_"

Scarlet power struck the lighter shade of crimson as Raditz brought out a Double Kaio-Ken. In one blow he knocked away the static attack, his strength momentarily exceeding Goku's own, if only for a few seconds. Once the beam dissipated into nothingness his armour of ki wore off. He clutched his side, wincing, no doubt experiencing the strain of his new power.

"That technique is too powerful for you," said Hyperion plainly.

"_I GOT US OUT OF THERE DIDN'T I?_"

Fortunately the bickering of the duo didn't last long at all, as their argument was cut short by Alpha flying into the fray. An instinctual swipe from Raditz was knocked aside and a tail lashing across his face interrupted Goku before he could even attack. Hyperion got the worst of it; after missing three slashes of his claymore Alpha rewarded his efforts by showcasing Vegeta's Royal Assault.

After twenty ki-shrouded punches found the god's abdomen Alpha ducked at precisely the right moment to allow the two intercepting saiyans to slam into each other.

Goku had to hand it to him: Alpha was a genius when it came to fighting. Despite being outmatched in terms of power against the three of them combined, he knew exactly how to move in order to turn their own strength against them. Even without Raditz and Hyperion's questionable teamwork Goku had no doubt that he'd still have the upper hand, and worst of all he made it look easy.

The next time he disappeared from view the three fighters regrouped and found him lounging leisurely against a yellow support structure of farspace. His eyes were closed and he appeared serene, enjoying the moment like a chef savouring the taste of his food.

"Mmm, I really have to hand it to your friends, that was clever, what they did with the Earth and all," he noted, barely paying attention to his trio of threats. "Transporting everyone to safety – good move, good move. In fact it was so crafty I just _had_ to let them get away with it, after all I only promised to destroy the Earth, not humanity. We're all friends here, and I'm a man of my word. I don't really care to be honest; at least I'll have more of an audience."

Goku froze; did Alpha know something he didn't? What was he talking about? "You destroyed the _Earth?_" he checked. As he spoke his fists tightened so much that his nails began to draw blood.

Alpha winked open one eye. "You didn't know? _HA! _Man, you really are slow aren't you? It amazes me how every one of my Shadow Dragons managed to lose to you people at some point – _twice _actually!"

"Just like you will. I'm glad the people are safe but. . . You'll pay for destroying the Earth," Goku promised. Alpha's eye gleamed and his smile widened; he knew as well as Goku did that without any active Dragon Balls to speak of, the planet could not be restored. Shenron's power was limited at the moment. It would take him decades to gather up the energy for such a feat.

"Oh don't bother; your heroic speeches make me feel sick."

The saiyan ground his teeth together. The time for talk was over – no amount of words could stop this battle from escalating.

In a reckless move Goku charged his foe solo. Raditz had to struggle to keep up with the immense speeds at which his brother flew, yet in the aftermath of Goku's miss his own attack landed a glancing blow across Vegeta's shoulder. Snarling, Alpha seized the saiyan and hurtled him through space.

When Hyperion's turn came to attack he fared little better. A hair's breadth separated his sword and a vital point as Alpha swung back his body, wheeling back to land a solid heel to the man's chin. Blue light devoured the clearing as Goku's sudden Dragon Kamehameha hit nothing but the mismatched shapes of deep space. Alpha danced around the attack with ease, at the same time putting himself in an ideal position to send a blast Goku's way.

Small yet potent, Alpha's globe of a harsh green light struck the saiyan's furred abdomen. He careered backward through pillar after pillar of assorted colours, his stomach ablaze with pain and his lungs flattened by the impact. It took everything he had to maintain his transformation.

Fortunately Raditz intervened before Alpha could deliver a finishing blow. The chaotic rage of his aura suggested he'd once again dipped into his reserves for a Double Kaio-Ken, but even that granted him only a single blow before Alpha retaliated in force.

After sending Raditz flying the dragon turned once more to the sight of the old god. Like a blade of grass in the wind he leaned away from each swipe of the man's greatsword, although his strength surprised even Goku when he held out his palm to the fifth slash.

Without a hint of recoil Alpha caught the sword with his right hand. It glowed, rife with energy as his bare skin gripped its naked edge. He smiled at the sight of Hyperion's expression shifting to one of fear, then without a second thought his left hand flew out to the man's face.

He clutched Hyperion's head in one hand, thumb and middle finger threatening to crush each temple like a grape. Through the gaps in his fingers Alpha took joy at the look of terror etched onto his opponent. No matter how hard he tried, Hyperion couldn't move a muscle.

Goku had barely recovered and Raditz was even worse. The saiyan then realised with a start that no matter how fast they moved, they couldn't reach Hyperion in time. Goku screamed something unintelligible as concentrated light poured from Vegeta's right hand, and an instant later his technique detonated.

The space before him – Hyperion included – was incinerated, leaving behind little more than dust and ashes. In just one move he'd destroyed one of their most valuable assets. Whatever secret plan Hyperion harboured, it died with him, the only remnant of his legacy being the two-handed sword that span lazily toward the depths of farspace.

_One attack? _Considered Goku. Hyperion had all the strength of a Super Saiyan 5; for Alpha to annihilate him so easily spelled more trouble than he initially realised.

"You _idiot!_" cried Raditz, pounding the wall he'd crashed into in fury. "You just had to go and get yourself killed!"

"Awww, don't feel bad for him, I'm sure he's in a better place now," Alpha mocked.

"_Why you-"_

"-Raditz!" Shockingly, this time it was Goku who excelled at keeping his emotions in check. He'd fought enough times to see this before; they couldn't afford to rush. If Raditz charged Alpha in his wrath then he'd only add one more name to the fallen martyrs. "You can't beat him alone!" he went on.

Raditz stopped in mid-flight, cast his foe a look of hatred, then landed beside his brother. He was itching to get out and fight – Goku could see it all over his face – but it wouldn't do if he got both of them killed. In truth Goku had been craving the moment he'd get to play his own hand, and fortunately, that time was finally close at hand.

"Well that takes care of _him_. Now I can enjoy playing with you two. Honestly, he was such a stick in the mud," Alpha spat, another grin tracing his lips. "I think a celebration is in order – hmm, how about I treat you two to another glimpse of what I've got in store for you?"

The dragon didn't wait for a reply before his shadowed aura sprang to life again. Space began to rumble around them; fragments of farspace cracked under the pressure, Raditz almost lost his balance and Goku remained stoic as Alpha's power began to shoot up.

Through the volcanic surge of darkness a bright, circular light appeared atop Alpha's sternum, starting out small before growing to life. Seconds later Goku had to duck as another ball of golden radiance whizzed over his head, joining the first by rooting itself in the defined chest of the saiyan prince. Another followed shortly after from the same direction. It took a fourth before Raditz realised what they were.

"Goku, are those Dragon Balls?" he asked.

The saiyan nodded. "I figured this would happen. Omega Shenron did the exact same thing when we fought him years ago. It only makes sense that Alpha would try the same thing. He's gathering all seven – he'll be stronger than before."

"We don't stand a chance!" said Raditz.

"Just take some time to recover. I want to try and fight him by myself."

"_EH?_"

Goku didn't waste time replying; his actions would do that for him. Instead he took off towards the raging hurricane of wanton negative energy. As a fifth Dragon Ball merged with Alpha he released the shroud of power encasing him, showing off Vegeta's defiled likeness. Five golden globes protruded from his chest, each decorated with a different number of bronze stars.

"You don't look scared Goku!" he remarked, his eyes wild with mania. "Your own energy doesn't hold a candle to mine now, but I suppose it's that saiyan blood of yours. You don't see your death do you? You only see a bigger challenge. That's what I love about you!"

A sixth Dragon Ball slammed into Alpha Vegeta, causing his power to shoot up once again. Even in the face of such overbearing energy Goku never flinched. He heard Raditz shout something behind him. His brother must've thought him crazy – perhaps he was. There was only one way to find out.

"You shouldn't be so confident Alpha. . ." he said at last, barely above a whisper. "You might just regret it."

"What are you babbling on about now?" As the final namekian Dragon Ball zoomed in over the horizon Vegeta assimilated it in an instant. With all seven poking from his chest Alpha's strength had doubled, and already he'd made a mockery of Goku, Raditz and Hyperion. What hope did the saiyan think he had alone?

There was no stopping the dragon now; Goku had a feeling that Alpha wasn't the only one who believed that. Raditz was stricken with uncertainty, and every other living Z-Fighter would surely be able to sense such an overwhelming force pervading the edge of space. But Goku knew something they didn't – something he'd kept to himself for three and a half years.

"After all," Goku continued, taking a wide stance as he prepared to go all out. "_You're not the only one with a set of Dragon Balls!_"

"Huh?"

Goku answered with a roar that shook the already-decimated corner of farspace as his aura danced about him. The four electrical pillars of his Super Saiyan 5 suddenly thickened, charging into overdrive and spinning in place as his surrounding veil of wildfire grew in intensity. Light radiated from his body, this time golden, shining so brightly that even a blinded Raditz had to avert his gaze.

Goku's scream became so loud that he feared Chi-Chi might hear it back home, and so drawn out that his lungs felt about to burst. It was a painful process, and happened slowly, but sure enough after he'd ravaged his vocal chords for a time he felt a strange pull from his chest.

The four-starred ball came first, acting as the centrepiece for the others that surrounded it in a hexagon. Before long all seven of Earth's Dragon Balls were visible across his chest, and with them, his power grew once more. He'd been entrusted with these long ago, but only now did he have the means to use them - and the incentive.

"Ahhhh," cooed Alpha, apparently unfazed by the development. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Raditz; the saiyan went nearly pure white as Alpha continued, "And here I thought Earth's Dragon Balls were inactive."

"Shenron bestowed them to me three years ago, right after we defeated Omega."

"B-but Goku!" said Raditz, suddenly asking the obvious. "If you had those all this time, why didn't you use them against Chronus?"

"The Dragon Balls have been slowly gathering positive energy since I received them. When we fought Chronus, I only had them for six months, and I used most of that energy to return to an age where I could fight."

"What do you mean?" demanded Alpha. "'_Gathering positive energy'? _What rubbish, where did they get it from? It doesn't just grow out of nothing."

Goku smiled at the question. If this whole affair proved something, it was that Vegeta seemed to utilise negative energy – he grew stronger from it and generated it from his pride. Goku had, and always would be, his polar opposite. "They've been getting it from me," he revealed.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: And you all thought I'd forgotten about that little twist at GT's end! Bah, I forget nothing. The basic idea is that the Dragon Balls have been sapping a tiny slither of his energy every day since he received them. Built up over a long period of time, he can now utilise them to power up in a crisis. Pretty cool huh? In truth I wanted to use them last saga, but like he said, six months isn't that much time - it wasn't really conceivable that they'd give him such a boost.

I actually sort of envision that to a certain extent, every major player in the series either operates using positive or negative energy. Fighters like Vegeta, Piccolo and Gohan (_especially_ Gohan) use negative energy; whereas others like Goku, Novus and Trunks use positive energy. Interestingly enough I also imagine Raditz uses positive, implying that Hyperion's little jab about how his sword would 'probably kill him' was completely and utterly false.

Obligatory _NOOOOO! Hyperion is dea-_ hang on, does anyone really care? Hyperion was always a douche. Waaaay too far up his own arse. Still, I did enjoy writing him and Raditz banter in this chapter, even if I think Raditz would batter him. Hell, I like writing all four of these characters, Alpha in particular.

Lastly there was just something I wanted to pick up on – a bit of trivia if you like: in the narrative of this chapter it mentions that Alpha uses Vegeta's fighting style, an example being that he lets his left arm absorb all the damage. This is actually something in the series (anime more so than the manga).

From the beginning of the Android Saga right up to the end of the show, almost all the damage Vegeta takes is focused on his left arm. It's probably just a coincidence in the animation department, but I always liked to think it's a quirk of his fighting style – that he directs all the damage there so the rest of him can stay alive and keep fighting. It seems like a very Vegeta thing to do.

I've been super ill lately but I hope the quality of this chapter makes up for my lateness. Regardless, I want this to be the new standard for future chapters. Until then, see ya!


	27. Chapter 27 Countdown to Annihilation

Chapter 27: Countdown to Annihilation

"Hmm." Alpha's grin widened – a mockery of Vegeta's usual smugness. In the face of the enormous power contained within the Earth's Dragon Balls he gave little more than a shrug. "This _is _unexpected. The stage seems set for my death, wouldn't you agree Goku? This is normally the part where you make an extraordinary comeback and save the universe once again."

Goku said nothing in reply, his eyes still fixated on his opponent rather than the seven mystical spheres protruding from his chest. He watched as Alpha lit up with mania before his next speech.

"However, it seems you've forgotten one rather significant detail!"

As Vegeta vanished in a blaze his presence was replaced by a spine-wrenching fist ploughing into Goku's stomach. It was all he could do to keep from passing out as the saiyan went over the movement in his head. Alpha's speed was barely traceable; he moved as a blur - faster than the speed of light, giving Goku barely enough time to register an incoming attack.

The saiyan drew himself back to full height before swinging a punch in retaliation, hitting nothing but air as Alpha's speed allowed him to zap away. Goku spied the enemy once again, this time childishly dangling his legs over a yellow column of farspace.

"Three years?" he said to Goku. "You really are as thick as they come. Just how long do you think these Namekian Dragon Balls have been sucking up all the negative energy from your unreasonable wishes? How many decades? And even before that, those pitiful green slugs didn't exactly stick to the hundred-year guidelines. Three years' worth of your energy – and you think _that's _enough to stop me? And here I thought you'd come up with something better."

Goku grimaced in anger, suddenly fighting the urge to attack recklessly. Alpha was right: in terms of raw ki he had the match won already. The saiyan cast a glance to Raditz, still perplexed and fear-stricken by what he'd just seen.

_It looks like Raditz can't follow his movements, _Goku noted. _I don't see much – just a blur. If I can time it right, then I guess I could make an attack work. _As Alpha's gaze drifted to the distance Goku pulled back his hands for a pose immediately recognisable. _Good, he's not looking – now's my chance._

Speed-lines and afterimages took Goku's place as he shot off in a number of Instant Transmissions. Keeping track of his location proved difficult for Raditz, although Alpha's eyes darted around farspace like a hawk, tracking his every movement. His eyebrows narrowed in suspicion.

"That old trick again? You can move faster than that on your own now! Surely you can actually _control _that new power of yours?"

Flash by flash Goku's impression loomed closer and closer. Alpha Vegeta never moved; even as the saiyan began to close the gap he never once bothered to put up his guard or make any move in defence. Raditz's eyes were dizzied for some time before the show came to an end. Alpha's hand snapped out like a coiled rattlesnake – apparently at nothing but air.

For the second time in minutes Goku felt an iron-clad grip tighten around his windpipe. Again Alpha had snatched him from lightspeed as though it were no mean feat, making sure to draw him face to face so he could see the image of his despair.

"You remember I can catch you right?" he whispered. "Don't you ever learn?"

"Sure do!" Goku choked out. Behind his squinting and gasping for air, the faint hint of a smile told Alpha he was in trouble.

Only then did the dragon notice the swollen ball of supercharged energy cupped behind the saiyan. Goku threw it forward with everything in him, a scream of "_Dragon Kamehameha!_" filling the air as the blue realisation of Shenron surged headfirst towards Vegeta's stomach. Under the force of a thousand tsunamis Alpha found himself pushed back by the beam, long enough for Goku to fly forward and connect a hook to the creature's jaw.

After such pain Alpha decided to forego any warm-up. With one surge of his own repulsive aura he dispelled the ethereal dragon, responding to Goku's attack with a ki-shrouded fist courtesy of his captive saiyan prince. But Alpha didn't stop there; by his orange fur the dragon seized his prey and took off, smashing Goku's head through countless exploding tubes from the edge of space.

Once he was bored the real punishment began. Alpha pinned Goku to a single column as he used his free hand to repeatedly wail against the man's face. Like a worn punching bag the saiyan endured punch after punch; his left eye bruised like a mango and swelled almost shut in the process, but after he'd been there long enough an intervention came in the form of his brother.

Even under a Double Kanzen Kaio-Ken Raditz's strength was devoted solely to stopping Alpha's right hand, providing just enough of a window for Goku to kick off the wall and smash his forehead straight at Vegeta's face.

As Alpha recoiled the saiyan seized his chance. A swift combo found the dragon's ribs and a final kick took him by the temple, sending him toppling through a number of multi-coloured webs before Goku closed him down. A primal roar escaped the Super Saiyan Five; all the ki from his own strength stacked with that of the seven mystic balls to create a Dragon Fist bigger than any he'd conjured before.

With this in hand Goku surged towards his opponent, closing the space between them with a world-shaking scream as his arm became a wreathed mass of golden energy. He loomed closer – just within arm's reach – before the unthinkable happened.

Vegeta's eyes opened, this time a fearful, desperate expression in contrast to the crazed mania of his captor. "_Kakarot stop!_" he cried out, voice back to normal. "It's me!"

In his moment of panic Goku did as he was told. The golden ki vanished into nothingness as he stopped dead in his tracks, his mind plagued with the fear that he'd just almost killed his friend. Only then did Vegeta's face warp back to a sinister sneer.

"_Psyche!_"

Goku was allowed a moment to realise he'd been tricked before being flung across the battlefield by another royal assault. He expected a second shower of punches as he slowed to a stop, yet what he found instead was that Alpha hadn't moved; he was too caught up in laughing his face off to take the opportunity. As Goku wiped the blood from his chin he managed to get back to both feet.

"That was dirty!" he cried in complaint.

But Alpha didn't listen; instead he continued to screech out his manic laughter. "_You_ _should've seen your face!_" he wailed in hysteria.

"Goku! Why did you hesitate?" said Raditz.

"I thought it was Vegeta!"

"Even if it was, so what? He can take a punch from you – you've fought him before. The only thing we need to concern ourselves with is beating that creep out of him!"

"_We?_" Alpha sneered, shaking his head. "Oh dear Raditz, it looks like you've severely overestimated your abilities. I guess I better finish what I started."

Raditz formed his own combat stance as the saiyan prince began to charge. A burst of light immediately made him lose sight of the dragon, yet a powerful energy behind him confirmed the creature's presence. He was fast – faster than anything he'd encountered until now. With this in mind Raditz ducked, not wishing to experience whatever kind of strength it had.

As he whirled to face his opponent the saiyan noticed the flick of a tail lash over the space his head just occupied, and with both hands free Alpha reared back an arm.

His blue-furred fist came a mere inch from Raditz's jaw when a rapid, thin beam of golden light punched a clean hole straight through his wrist. Blood from the wound splattered Raditz's face as Alpha recoiled in pain, covering his leaking arm until the wound managed to regenerate. He searched in vain for a new face; even Raditz had no clue who the attack belonged to.

"I wouldn't show your back to me Alpha, we're not done here," said Goku. A dying glow from the Dragon Balls across his chest seemed to prove beyond any doubt that the technique belonged to him – some kind of beam made from harnessing his new power. As if to confirm Raditz's suspicions the balls began to glow again.

Tracks of light suddenly shot from each of the orbs, converging at a spot several inches away from the four starred ball acting as the centrepiece. Once unified the seven beams fired as one, shooting a bullet-like celestial beam faster than Raditz could follow. Whatever it was, Goku's aim with it was second to none; even with his brother in the way he managed to blast it past his neck and hit Vegeta square in the shoulder.

After delivering a solid kick Raditz fled back to a safe distance. Alpha recovered in no time at all, yet his arrogant glare towards Goku told him he wouldn't repeat the same mistake again. He might've been stronger, but taking his eyes off Goku was a grievous error.

"Looks like I _can _control this power," noted the saiyan. "It's not so hard once you get used to it."

Alpha gave a smirk, licking his lips in anticipation. "Don't get too comfortable."

Raditz watched on in disbelief, suddenly glad that he was no longer the target of Alpha's attacks. Vegeta's Dragon Balls hummed to life, black energy linking them together before firing an even more potent variant of Goku's new technique.

But where Raditz saw little more than a flash, his brother reacted accordingly. After the first drew blood from his arm Goku fell into a complex dance of flying acrobatics, weaving away from the multitude of razor-sharp beams as they slammed into the net of colours making up their arena, leaving nothing but powdery explosions in their wake.

Being a fighting prodigy came with its perks; even after such a sudden boost it didn't take Goku long to become accustomed to his new strength and the speed of the bolts Alpha threw his way. After doing naught but observe for several moves he finally felt it time to act; he was outmatched in every aspect, but he'd never get a better chance through Alpha's defence.

Without a second thought the saiyan shifted into top gear. A golden mist trailed in his wake as he pushed his speed to the limit, easily allowing him to evade whilst closing in on his prey.

Once he reached ten paces Alpha allowed his Dragon Balls to fade and brought up both hands. He caught Goku's first blow with little effort, and then as the saiyan swung again the dragon trapped his second too.

What transpired next was a raw test of strength. Auras flared to impossible heights as Goku pushed against the power of his opponent, at the same time trying to free his captive fists from Vegeta's clutches. Alpha pushed back in equal force, resulting in a shockwave that smashed every pane of farspace crystal for as far as the eye could see.

A haze of red, blue and yellow descended across space as Raditz sank to one knee under the enormous pressure of the two rivalling powers. He averted his gaze, unable to watch anymore, although the deafening war-cries still screamed down his eardrums; Goku's desperate and painful – Alpha's wild in ecstasy.

It was only when Goku's voice jumped up an octave that Raditz decided to look back. His brother had lost the exchange; through the ocean of gold and black ki the saiyan could just make out the damage – Goku's wrist twisted back to an angle that pained just to look at. The mass of gold vanished as Vegeta's boot buried itself in his stomach.

Blood and spittle sprayed the void, with Goku's eyes rolling back to their sockets as once again he fought off unconsciousness. He clutched at his chest, unable to catch his breath after the sheer impact of Alpha's kick. With the saiyan out of play Alpha instead turned his eyes to Raditz.

Fear filled him in an instant; the eager stare of a sadistic Super Saiyan 5 was enough to make even the most ruthless warrior scared, yet what terrified Raditz most of all was the familiar pose he adopted. With both arms stretched out before him Alpha placed his wrists together, white gloves forming claw shapes as red ki frothed upon his palms.

After powering up a Kaio-Ken Raditz made a break for it; he'd never survive that kind of blast. Unfortunately twin shots from Vegeta's Dragon Balls pierced his left shoulder and – most agonising of all – his right kneecap. The saiyan doubled over, pain bolting up and down his leg as Vegeta's signature move reached its prime.

"_Crimson Oblivion!_"

The blast barrelled towards Raditz as a crimson wave of his imminent death. Stricken by pain, there was little he could do but watch on in agony. His vision was blinded in an instant and his senses overloaded by the incomprehensible amount of energy hurtling towards him. In the moment before the attack struck however, the silhouette of a man became visible against the shining wall of red.

From the outline of his hair Raditz recognised it immediately as Goku. With arms widespread he took on the entirety of the beam, his scream barely audible over the crash of the seemingly endless shout of energy. Tendrils of residual crimson flowed past Raditz, occasionally lashing against his arm. He could only imagine how his brother felt – taking that thing head on.

When the attack was over Goku at least remained in one piece. His body smoked, charred grey from the explosion. From a rear view Raditz dared to hope – if only for a second – that he was unhurt. That hope didn't last long however, as the sudden vanishing of Goku's power confirmed his suspicions.

Fur from his transformation faded back as his hair style reverted to the one he'd worn since childhood. A torn combat uniform barely covered his chest, and his trousers suffered the same shredded fate. Even the symbol on his back became unreadable.

Goku pitched forward, vomiting what Raditz suspected to be half the blood in his body. His brother swerved round to get a better look, ignoring the incessant laughter of their opponent as he hoisted Goku onto one arm. From the front Raditz could see his brother's eyes; they'd become half-lidded and lifeless, one still swollen over by the Alpha's onslaught.

"Goku! _Goku!_ Hang in there alright?"

The saiyan spat out more blood before answering, his voice cracked and labouring. "We. . .We'd better move," he judged.

"Yeah no kidding!" said Raditz. "But where?"

"The others – . . . I know where they've gone," Goku replied. He took his time with each word, stopping to breathe after every few.

Before Raditz's next question could be answered he found himself cut off by Alpha's laughter growing louder. "And now in defeat you think you can get away? Oh wow, that's a little optimistic. And where exactly do you think you can run off to?"

Goku ignored the question. Even though it appeared to use all his strength, the saiyan still slung his shoulder off Raditz and drew himself back to full height. After wavering slightly he pointed his finger, still and threatening. "You'd better not give up in there. We'll be back for you Vegeta."

Alpha sighed, bored of their dreaming. "I told you already, Vegeta is st-"

Once again the rarity of the Dragon's wrath began to surface. He hated being ignored, so when Goku and Raditz disappeared into thin air halfway through his sentence, he could only clench a fist and grit his teeth. They'd gotten away – for now.

* * *

Within moments of the saiyan's arrival Shenron's untarnished metal hall was coated in a slick pool of his blood. Earthlings scattered in screams at the sight of the overly muscular man with a tail, a man who looked like he'd just walked in front of a train.

As Goku's vision began to fail him he managed a final clear view of his surroundings. Shenron's domain was exactly as he'd left it, its hub a great hall with columns as thick as trees connecting the ground and the roof high above. Scattered around three borders were a vast number of doors he'd never bothered to count, and the fourth wall was occupied only by a set of giant, magnificent double doors used by the dragon himself.

A crash amongst the chaos signalled the arrival of Trunks and Goten slamming open one of the many doors. Goku was relieved at least when he heard his son's voice shout for someone to get Dende. The two of them charged over with Uub in tow, fear in their eyes at the prospect of losing him.

"What happened?" demanded Trunks. "Goku! Are you alright?"

"Dad! Say something!"

Goku opened his mouth to speak, finding nothing but a pain in his throat and another spit of blood where his words should've been.

"We went up against Alpha." Raditz spoke for him. "Goku took the blast for me. Damn it, I was only in the way!" His fist pounding the floor explained his feelings better than anything he could've strung into a sentence. The saiyan saw it immediately; Raditz was angry at his own powerlessness, a feeling Goku was no stranger to.

"It's alright," he muttered once his voice returned. "He had me beat. I'd be in this condition whether you were there or not."

"It was my dad, wasn't it? Alpha is using him right?" said Trunks.

Goku tried to say something – anything to get that morbid look like a beaten puppy off Trunks's face – yet before he could answer a pair of tall green beings came between them. The first, little to his shock, was Dende. The moment his palms began to glow Goku's wounds began to close. His wrist throbbed as it snapped back into position, but afterwards he felt a sensation wash over him like being dipped in a relaxing bubblebath.

As the pain began to fade and all his senses returned to normal Goku got a better look at the second figure. Piccolo was here.

"Even you were no match for him?" said the namekian.

Goku shook his head with eyes closed, lamenting his defeat. "No. I'm sorry you guys. I gave it everything I had. He's using Vegeta's pride to control him and amplify his powers. . . But after what Trunks just said I'm guessing you already knew that."

"We had our suspicions."

As Goku tried in vain to avoid the stares of his comrades he struggled back to both feet. Dende's healing abilities were normally instantaneous, yet this time something was wrong. Goku stood up too fast, the pain in his chest tripling from the sudden movement to send him crashing back onto one knee.

The saiyan looked down to inspect his injuries. Just as he'd thought, the namekian's powers ensured that no bruises or wounds remained, so why was his chest still blazing in agony? He stood up again, slowly this time, finding that if he didn't exert himself the pain would be lessened.

"What's going on? Why am I not healing?" he asked, confused.

"Hm?" As if to scan his body Dende placed a palm flat upon Goku's forehead. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, only to have them snap open again with a look of concern. "Goku, what exactly were you hit with?"

"Vegeta's Crimson Oblivion," said Goku. "It packs a punch, but I don't remember it doing this much lasting damage."

"Looks like Alpha infused it with some really foul negative energy," Dende mused.

"Can't you fix it?" asked the saiyan.

"I wish, but it's beyond my skill. I can only heal surface wounds – a senzu bean does the same. This thing left a mark inside your body, like a scar on your soul; you'll have to wait around for a while before your energy naturally purges it."

"_Huh?_" Goku cried in dismay. "How long will _that_ take?"

"I don't know. We'll just have to see how well you progress, that should give us some idea."

However he spun it Goku knew this was terrible news. He tried once more to test out his muscles, only to find the same paralysing pain shooting through his arm like a bolt of lightning. In this state he was incapable of fighting – transforming would no doubt put an even bigger strain on it.

His one consolation was that Alpha had no idea where they were hiding. They could stay here and bide their time until he returned to full strength; the others would be in no danger. Goku put the thought out of his mind when the crowd parted again for two more saiyans, this pair wearing the traditional armour of their planet.

"Dad!" he realised with a start, noticing Bardock. "It's great to meet you in person!"

"You too son. You're taller than I imagined. How are you both holding up?"

Goku and Raditz traded looks, shrugging in turn. Despite minor wounds and aching muscles Raditz had suffered little in the battle, and once Dende saw to him the hole in his knee closed up nicely.

"We'll be alright," he said. "But Dad, Hyperion didn't make it."

A voice cried out in sudden shock, but it wasn't Bardock's. "_He what?_"

Raditz cringed at the sound, for the moment it spoke seemed he knew exactly who it belonged to. The two saiyans turned to the sight of a young woman, garbed in a holy white outfit with bright blonde hair reaching her waistline. Her delicate features and startling beauty were wasted on Goku however.

The saiyan noticed something – a tattoo of sorts inked upon the woman's collarbone where her suit parted. Goku had seen it somewhere before, and so he gave it a long, dumb look until the gears finally turned inside his head. He pointed an accusing finger as he began to shout:

"_GAH! Raditz get back! It's a Vicis! She's gonna kill us all!_"

But Raditz wasn't listening. He took two steps towards her and placed a single, comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. We did everything we could. . . But he gave his life for our cause."

"_Raditz! Hey Raditz! Didn't you hear what I said?_"

Still ignoring the injured saiyan, the woman in white gave a smile, shaking her head. "It's fine, I'm just a little shocked is all. He was prepared for death – it'd be foolish to mourn him at a time like this."

"_KAAAAA-MAYYYY-_"

"-Goku knock it off!" As he whirled to face his brother Raditz gave the saiyan a solid fist atop his crown.

Instead of firing off a beam Goku instead nursed his head, covering the swollen bump Raditz left as he whined. "Radiiiitz, what did you do that for?"

"She's on our side dumbass!"

"Oohhhhh." Goku tilted his head to one side and inspected the girl curiously, apparently unsure of what to believe. Eventually she looked at Raditz in confusion. Once he'd finished embarrassing her Goku only sat back down and placed both hands behind his head. "That's great! Nice to meet you, I'm Goku."

"Novus," she introduced herself. The Vicis narrowed her eyes in suspicion, clearly thinking it impossible that one man could be so trusting. After all, as far as he was concerned she'd been his enemy just two minutes ago. She'd heard tales of this man, yet despite working on the side of good for three years now she'd still never had the chance to meet him.

"You could've told me earlier Raditz, you didn't have to hit me!" Goku resumed his argument.

"I thought it was obvious!"

"Not really," mumbled the saiyan. He then turned his attention to Piccolo. "How did you guys get here anyway?"

Piccolo motioned to the three other newcomers; the older saiyans and the Vicis woman Novus. He went on to explain how both of their ships had met up at a blown-up Earth, only to have themselves zapped into this strange dimension by Uub. Bardock also posited that Alpha might have his own dimension too, but without any clear evidence they could only guess.

The crowd parted once more when Chi-Chi came barging through. Goku's chest pained again when she flung herself into his arms in a fit of tears. Only then did he suddenly realise how much he'd missed her. She sobbed into his bloodied outfit, blind to all the company around them.

"-So glad you're alright," was all he could make out. "After Pan; and then Gohan-"

"-We'll get them back," he assured her. "Just as soon as I'm at full strength we'll beat this guy."

"And what is it that you intend to do? Be defeated again?" chided King Vegeta. He'd said very little since his arrival, although one look at his face told Goku he wasn't exactly thrilled with the circumstances. He'd been brought back to life and allowed to see his son one more time, only to have him snatched away before he'd said more than a few words to him.

Along with being his spitting image Goku noticed the King acted in a very similar manner to his son. He'd always had disagreements with Vegeta – to Goku this felt like another. "Vegeta is still in there. I'll get him out – he can beat this," he said.

"And what if that doesn't happen? Soon we might have to face the reality that he's lost. What will you do then?"

"If it comes down to that. . ." Goku paused; he didn't want to consider that possibility, but more and more it seemed to be becoming the more likely outcome. Throughout their entire battle there was no hint that the proud Saiyan Prince had ever even resided in that body at all. "If that's the case then there's no other option."

"You'll kill him?" asked the king, arching an eyebrow.

Novus then piped up, having watched the same thing already. "I doubt Alpha intends to inhabit him for very long," she said. "When he eventually breaks free of Vegeta, your son will die in the process, of that you can be sure."

"He'd want me to," concluded Goku, fists clenched at the thought of it. "But only if there's no other way."

"Good," said King Vegeta. He nodded his head solemnly. "You're right – that might have to be done. It seems you're not quite as soft as he thought."

The saiyan nodded as Chi-Chi looked up at him with uncertain eyes. Raditz looked about to say something in complaint, but he'd been there as well. Before the fight he'd also been convinced that Vegeta could be saved, however that was before he'd seen the dragon incinerate Hyperion and wound Goku without a second thought. If that didn't wake him up it seemed nothing would.

"Can one of you guys take me to Bulma? I imagine she must be worried," Goku said, remembering with a start that Vegeta had a wife.

"Sure, follow me," answered Trunks.

With that the two saiyans made their way out of the main hall, Goku hobbling along at a much slower pace. His breathing became slow and erratic, his chest throbbing every time he moved quicker than a brisk walk. Trunks noticed it right away and slowed to match him, even holding the door open as he led them into a narrow corridor.

Scientists left and right turned to avoid the limping saiyan and his wide shoulders. A mere fifty metre walk across steel hallways already made Goku work up a sweat; this thing, whatever it was, wouldn't cut him a break so easily. After trekking for what felt like an hour the half-saiyan opened the doors to a cramped, stuffy room, suspended in darkness but for a number of high-tech screens displaying numbers surrounding it.

At its centre sat Bulma, swivelling around on a black armchair as she twirled a hand through turquoise locks of hair. She almost dropped her coffee when she saw the state of Goku, hauled onto a nearby table by her son. It didn't take her long to figure out what had happened. After all, only one Shadow Dragon could've done that much damage to him.

"Heya Bulma," he said. "I take it you're the one who worked out about Vegeta."

Chewing her lip, Bulma nodded her head.

At an effort Goku managed a hollow laugh. "Guess I worried for nothing, I figured you'd be climbing the walls."

"Well you should've seen me yesterday," she said, giving an apologetic look to her son.

Trunks turned and explained. "There was a lot of fainting, screaming, hair-pulling, coffee spilling - that kind of thing."

"But then I remembered: Hey, Goku's out there!" said Bulma. "If anyone can save him it's Goku – Goku can do anything."

"Well I wouldn't go that far. . ." The saiyan looked away, scratching his head bashfully.

"Either he makes it out alive or he doesn't; worrying about it won't solve anything. And I know you care about him almost as much as I do, so you'll do everything you can."

"That's right. Once I'm better we'll go out and face him again."

"At least we've got time on our side," noted Trunks. "Right now he has no idea where we've-" The saiyan's point was rendered obsolete before he could even finish his sentence.

At once every single monitor in the screen lit up way past its maximum brightness setting, accompanied only by a dull buzz that signified one thing. Two seconds later the warning lights at every corner of the room flashed a dangerous shade of red, sounding a claxon throughout what seemed to be the entirety of Shenron's endless domain.

Alpha jumped onto each screen in a flamboyant entrance, both hands outstretched as he announced "Tadaa!" like a bad magician. Now that his secret was out there was no reason for him to hide Vegeta's body; he wore it with honour, displaying his mockery of the Prince's face and voice in such a manner that Bulma was forced to look away.

"You see, I was planning on playing nice. I made all these rules and made galactic domination into a fun game that we could all enjoy!" he began. "But you just _had _to go and run away didn't you Goku? You _had _to spoil it by being a sore loser!"

Goku gritted his teeth as Bulma whimpered behind him. Trunks placed a hand to his sword out of instinct, painfully aware that there was little he could use it for in this situation.

"But you shouldn't have warped away where I could see Goku. You won't be making that mistake again, because now I know where you've gone!"

A sharp jolt lurched up the saiyan's heart as their last advantage was stripped away. Somehow Alpha's eyes had seen through the echo of his Instant Transmission, and now that he had their location he was determined to finish his fight.

"Shenron's dimension eh? I should've guessed really. Mm, he _does _have some pretty tight defences between the rift. Someone like me couldn't jump through without breaking them down you see. Ah well, it's a minor obstacle." As Alpha spoke his camera zoomed out to get a better look at his location. Surrounding him was a mismatch of arctic glaciers, bare wastelands, volcanic mountains and some terrains Goku never knew existed.

Beside him a large portal had been erected, emerald green and swirling as lightning from his palm battered against it like fierce waves upon a shore. He'd forcefully opened a door to Shenron's dimension.

"I'll round it to a time you're comfortable with just for practicality: it will take me twenty-four hours to break into this dimension. You have one day. I'm sending you my current coordinates right now." Just as he said, a series of numbers clocked up on the right side of Bulma's monitors – the location of the odd planet he'd inhabited.

"It isn't _too _far from where Earth used to be so you shouldn't have much trouble getting there. Send anyone you want to try and stop me, but know that in twenty-four hours your struggle will be at an end, one way or another. You pushed me to this Goku, now get ready to deal with the consequences."

The screens upon the left side of the room flashed once again, this time displaying six red numbers. A countdown had begun, starting at twenty-four hours, zero minutes and zero seconds as it slowly ticked away with each passing moment. Alpha gave a final wink at the screen, his last message to them before he waved his hand and muttered under his breath. "See you soon."

* * *

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* * *

Author's Notes: Well that went well!

Guess there isn't much I can say about this chapter besides Goku got his ass kicked! I planned to upload this last week; then I got mugged – that's right, I got mugged at knifepoint in the middle of the day :/ Absolute scum. I wasn't hurt before you all start fretting, just robbed, although they clubbed my mate across the face with a frigging log so there's been a police investigation going on. Had to give statements, visit my friend etc. Gotta go down to the station and ID some people tomorrow, sure hope they've caught the bastards.

Can't believe Goku never met Novus before this chapter! I actually just realised it in the second draft and thought it might be a good time to put in some badly timed comedy xD

So our hero is out of commission and we've got twenty-four hours before the villain breaks in and kills everyone. Guess they can't just sit around and wait for it, see what happens next time!


	28. Chapter 28 Left to Mortals

Chapter 28: Left to Mortals

"We've got twenty-three hours and fifty minutes," Trunks explained. "After that we're either all dead, or he is."

As silence descended around one of Shenron's endless corridors Trunks allowed the truth of his words to sink in. Goku sighed; he couldn't have put it any better himself, but his bluntness served to catch every Z-Fighter off guard. The buckets of time that once existed had been stripped away with a single sentence, the immediacy of the threat dawning upon every man and woman in the room.

Raditz looked aghast and Uub terrified as the others tried their best to pretend everything would still be alright, albeit badly. The sweat dripping off King Vegeta's head visible from across the room coupled Bardock's gasp confirmed that even the long-dead veterans remained in fear of the enemy. Goten swallowed a gulp as he sagged against the wall.

"So it's all or nothing huh?" offered Bardock.

"Goku," Piccolo started, rounding on the man. "Can you fight?"

In a usual show of his fighting spirit the saiyan drew himself back up to full height, flexed his muscles and took a deep breath. He looked impressive for a moment – his athletic build on full display as his friends thought for a moment he might save them once again. Then it hit him: the stab of pain like a knife shoved between his lungs, crippling him back to a pitiful hunch, keeled over and gasping for air.

"No. . ." he managed, heaving. "I wish I could guys, I really do. But in this condition. . ." Goku's next words looked nearly too painful to admit. "I'd only be in your way."

"Then there's no helping it, we'll all go in your place," Piccolo decided.

The namekian needed no confirmation. A quick glance to each fighter told him they were as ready as they'd ever be; they'd trained and transformed through blood and battles to be the strongest they could manage – a fighting force that could give Alpha a run for his money. Only one of them remained uncertain.

"Um. . ."

"I know Uub, it's alright," said Piccolo. "Don't go within a hundred miles of him, you just focus on getting us to and from this dimension."

The Majin released a huge sigh of relief. It wasn't the threat of dying that bothered him, it was fighting Alpha with no power – being only a hindrance to those who'd come to rely on him – the shame of it would be too unbearable.

"We'll give him hell for you Goku," said Raditz.

Suddenly full of optimism, Goten piped up, "Yeah! You won't even have to lift a finger, we'll beat him ourselves!"

"I will not let Hyperion's death go without retribution," Novus promised.

"You guys. . ." Again Goku recalled the horrifying power that was Alpha Vegeta. Whilst odds alone would see them dead in a heartbeat, the valour and determination his friends displayed gave the saiyan another reason to hope. Maybe they _could _win. The thought made him crack a smile, imagining his friends and family returning home with Vegeta back to normal, just in time for his full recovery and a saiyan banquet to celebrate. With Alpha's power it was a childish pipe-dream and he knew it, but as long as it remained _possible _he'd continue to cling to that chance. "Thanks," he managed – the only thing left to say.

"Thank us when we win," grumbled the King of Saiyans.

As the group started down the hallway Goku laughed upon seeing Bardock roll his eyes at King Vegeta's cranky statement. Again Trunks helped the saiyan down the corridor with an arm slung over his shoulder, the troop ahead marching toward battle like they meant it. They'd prepared themselves long ago for this, each knowing this moment would someday come where they'd lay down their lives for the sake of the universe, even if it meant almost certain death.

"We need to power up here and head out as quick as we can – if we're careless he might get the drop on us before we transform." said Raditz.

Trunks called out from the back. "I've got the coordinates, just follow my lead once we teleport."

Two corridors later and all nine fighters found themselves in Shenron's great hall, the warp-zone for the entire dimension. As usual the colossal doors loomed like a challenge to the strong on one side, and pillars polished to a reflective shine sprang up to connect the floor to the sky-high ceiling. The grandiose of the entire complex never ceased to take one's breath away.

Unfortunately the only problem with their plan was the cluster of humans crowding the hall. Worrying families still huddled in corners and a few gathered around picnic sheets, handing out bread and fish as they prayed for salvation. Transforming without injuring them would prove difficult.

"What was that you said about powering up Raditz?" Goten joked.

"I'll handle this." Without prior warning the namekian strode forward, held up his hand and released his trademark spiralling cannon from his finger. It crashed to the roof to form a dent in Shenron's unmarked domain, the sound and light terrifying all present as Piccolo thundered: "_I'm back mortals! Call me Demon King Piccolo! I'll be your new ruler from now on!"_

Screeches left and right sang about the hall as humans scrambled for any door they could locate, leaving everything behind as they made a blind break for safety. Any who bothered to look twice would see in an instant that Piccolo had no intention of following through on his threat, but no one spared him a second look before bolting.

In less than twenty seconds the great hall was emptied. Screams could still be heard from down the aisles of doors left ajar, but they faded in moments to leave the place in absolute silence. Piccolo sighed, his routine over.

"Almost had me convinced there Piccolo!" laughed Goku, ignoring the pain in his chest.

"Consider yourself lucky you're injured," answered the namekian. "Everyone ready?"

Wordless nods of determination answered Piccolo in turn, and with all the encouragement he needed the green man began his power-up as a low, warbling growl escaped the back of his throat. Auras flared up about the room in different shapes and sizes, their blinding lights an incredible spectrum of colour. Trunks left Goku for Uub to manage, saying nothing but "_Fusion!_" as he marched over to Goten and clashed ringed fists with him.

A white silhouette took their place, coupled with the shock of four electrical pillars spinning in place whilst Bardock and King Vegeta fused as well. Behind them Raditz began to ascend, and Novus as well, her transformation marked by a heavenly pillar of light falling upon her from out of nowhere. The clock face atop her sternum span to dizzying speeds.

Flecks of ice scattered about Piccolo as Goku felt a chill wind sweep over the room, but his power-up was only one of five. He continued his low roar as the others mirrored, and soon five raging torrents of energy flared about each fighter to leave craters in the floor that Shenron wouldn't be pleased about. In just under a minute the room was filled with more energy than Goku had the ability to calculate, all of them stronger than the respective Shadow Dragons they'd each faced off against.

"Awesome. . ." Uub stared on in wonder, wishing only that he could help. With his power at an all-time low just being in the presence of such ki was enough to make him feel faint.

"I wouldn't wanna be Alpha right now," said Goku.

Gotenks grinned and ran bolts of lightning through his fingers. As usual his voice was a blended mix of his two counterparts. "Sit tight Goku, we'll be back before you know it. Ready Uub?"

The Majin nodded.

"I can get us there too," Novus revealed. "Now that I know the way, getting through dimensions should be within my power."

Taking only two passengers relieved much weight from Uub's shoulders; he seemed more confident transporting just Vardock and Gotenks, silently thanking the Vicis as Raditz and Piccolo both placed a hand on her shoulder. Twin sets of parallel lines took their place in an instant. The six hurtled through the dimensional barrier and out of sight, leaving Goku by himself in the empty space of the enormous hall.

Flashbacks of his training returned to Goku, for here he'd powered up to the fifth stage of Super Saiyan with the help of Shenron and forcefully aged his body back to a form he could fight at his fullest in. As he pondered this another idea occurred to Goku; it was a long shot – perhaps not even worth the effort – but the thought of sitting and doing nothing whilst his friends fought was a far worse alternative.

His eyes scanned the high set of matching doors up and down. Beyond them lay gravity fearsome enough to challenge him even at full strength, and yet part of him still relished trying. _Worth a shot_, he judged.

* * *

Stars and planets and comets and suns and moons whirred past the quintet of fighters in a blur as they homed in on Alpha's location. Taulos might've been the most densely populated planet they'd encountered so far, but the sheer size of this one was on another level.

After seeing the readings even Bulma couldn't believe the size of the giant; she even went so far as to speculate that it may have once been a sun, dried up and solidified long ago, or even perhaps something created by Alpha for their final battle. Regardless, the planet was a monstrosity that dwarfed the worlds they'd battled upon so far, with temperatures and oxygen measurements often fluctuating in degrees of a hundred within just a few miles.

On average the sites of Shadow Dragon battles had been fifty times bigger than Earth – _this _behemoth was fifty times those. Piccolo noted that not even Alpha could've blown up something of that size, so at least their warzone would be stable for the duration of the fight. Save for Novus each Z-Fighter wore a lightweight device strapped to their wrist – Bulma's genius invention that allowed them to survive in even the farthest depths of unknown space.

Few fighters spoke on the journey, steeling themselves in silence for the battle to come. Vardock said little of any substance, Piccolo and Novus remained quiet and Raditz offered the occasional comment. After more than two hours passed Gotenks began to get jittery.

"Why do I feel like we're on our way to a suicide mission?" he said. "Look alive people, let's show a little energy!"

Raditz laughed at the comment as his old mentor Piccolo gave the faintest hint of a smile. Ignoring his quip Vardock spoke up, impatient for the action.

"How much longer until we get there?"

Gotenks pouted in annoyance and checked the device, just as he had been doing regularly for the last two hours. "About ten minutes; don't be in such a hurry gramps, I mean this _might _just be the last fight you ever have," he answered.

Vardock huffed, "It was ten minutes the last time I asked."

"That's because the last time you asked was about a minute ago - I was rounding!" After muttering something that sounded like 'going senile' the fusion let the argument drop.

More time was added to their journey as an enormous blue sun burning in a spectral white mist barred their path. Being within a few miles of it made the heat unbearable, so an alternative route had to be made as the fighters swerved around it, never breaking rank through fear of being ambushed; each fighter had been charged with watching the back of another. As they glided about the leviathan star Novus took a moment to revel in its splendour; the others didn't share her sentiment, but the Vicis found beauty in the wonders that nature could produce.

Raditz meanwhile flew trapped in a stupor, stuck between psyching himself up and caught in the fear that they'd all die. He felt certain that the others wouldn't show half as much optimism if they'd seen Alpha's strength for themselves, and it was for this reason that he nearly jumped out of their neat arrow-shape formation when Piccolo barked back to him.

"Raditz!"

The saiyan shook himself to snap out of his hopeless worry; at least Piccolo's question would distract him from the reality.

"You're the only one who's fought Alpha," he went on. "I'm leaving it to you to decide our plan of action."

"Well. . ." Raditz thought for a moment. It was a tricky question; after all, none of the combined efforts of himself, Goku and Hyperion had given them any kind of results – in fact Alpha had taken advantage of their working together and turned their attacks back at them, so even more fighters could work in his favour. However there was one crucial flaw in their last battle – something he'd never mention to Novus.

Hyperion wasn't a team player - he never had been. The old god showed up whenever he pleased and didn't know the techniques or tactics of either of his allies. Whilst his strength was second only to Goku and Vegeta's, Alpha had exploited his bad sense of teamwork. This time things would be different. The saiyan spent a minute going through the strengths and weaknesses of each fighter present before giving his assessment.

"Last time Alpha seemed unusually wary of Hyperion," he remembered. "Since she trained under him, Novus should get up personal. I'll be there with her too – we sparred together in the afterlife. Since we both know the other's moves our two frontline fighters won't trip over each other. And with the Kaio-Ken I should be able to damage him if I land a direct hit."

The others listened intently, knowing this could mean the difference between life and death.

"Gotenks, I need you to wreak havoc; throw everything you've got at him with the ghosts, make sure he doesn't have the chance to counter. If we back off then you've got permission to fly in with the swords – I don't want you cutting us up in the middle of an attack."

"Roger that." Gotenks gave a quick salute to show he understood.

"Vardock, keep him distracted. With that ability of yours you should be able to dodge whatever he throws at you – we'll make sure he keeps all the heavy fire on us. And Piccolo, I need you to support us however you can. You've got more experience than any of us and you can attack from any range; back us up, keep your eyes peeled, make sure we're doing our jobs and get a shot in wherever you can. I'll trust your instinct on this one."

"Understood." Piccolo nodded, impressed with his student's analysis. Everyone had their roles and knew what was at stake – if only Gohan were here the namekian figured their victory would be assured.

Right on cue the planet came into view, creeping out from behind the shadow of the giant blue bomb guarding the way. Looking at numbers did nothing to prepare them for its size; despite still being thousands of miles away the planet filled the space before them – their giant view of the void was filled to every corner with the surface of this nameless world, overwhelming in its sheer scope.

At even a brief glance the planet was a mess; a confused rainbow of assorted colours splashed across the surface like a waterlogged palette of paint. Deserts and jungles lay side by side, along with mountains and seas and even neighbouring couplings of glaciers and volcanic regions, each the size of a whole country on Earth.

"If we all should perish here," said Novus, still in awe of Alpha's chosen battlefield. "I just want to say it's been an honour. There's no one else I'd rather fight and die beside."

"Oh come _on_! What is this, Shakespeare?" yelled Gotenks, unable to believe his ears. "No one's dying here!"

"Believe it or not, I too share her sentiment," said Vardock.

"Terrific. Looks like I've been saddled with some _real_ cheery fellows as my wingmen."

* * *

Moonlit passages spilled over shadows of the endless canyon, illuminating the way for a half-dead Goku to slug through. The gravity made his shoes feel like each a planet strapped to his feet, so intense that he was forced to strip to nothing but trousers after just a few hours. Every step was a chore, every footfall sending a torturous round of pain to his chest.

At least the view kept him distracted; the black backdrop of a limitless void spanned above him, decorated with an innumerable count of stars glittering like sequins against them. Goku had no idea why, but for some reason the outer layer of Shenron's dimension resembled Earth's moon, barren and lifeless with only grey rock formations to lead the way.

Everything looked the same; the familiarity became such a pain that the saiyan lost his way twice, and once ended up walking in the opposite direction. It was only by sensing the indoor mass of humans and putting them behind him that Goku managed to walk the right way, but even casting out his senses was a struggle under the gravity.

Being unable to transform only made matters worse. The gravity grounded him to a snail's pace when even the most basic strain of a Super Saiyan could've seen him at a comfortable flight. He still felt the ability – the ease of accessing it – though he didn't dare try for fear of his cursed wound leaving him in ruins, crippling him out here where no one could find him.

With the Power-Pole as his walking stick Goku allowed it to take all the weight of his upper body. After four hours he'd been reduced to a mere shuffle, with the long-unused weapon being the only thing keeping him standing. He hobbled weakly through the void of the dimension. Cliffs either side of him formed a passage just barely narrow enough for his wide frame, bowing down overhead to block out nearly all the light from above.

When finally Goku thought he could take no more, a brief scanning of the area lit up the energy he'd been seeking all along: Shenron's. At a quicker pace now he limped through the winding path; the saiyan tripped twice over snagging rocks, crashing to the ground and injuring himself further. In his eagerness he found himself blind to the flow of blood dripping from his elbow and temple.

He emerged from the claustrophobic gorge with his heart aflame. His trousers were dyed a shade deeper with all the sweat and his normally buoyant hair sagged to a dismal mop, but at long last he'd arrived.

The dragon looked the same as ever, stark green and yellow against the backdrop of grey and black, filling the sky before Goku with his sheer size. He turned, snaking to avoid knotting himself before looming over the saiyan with eyes glowing their usual tint of red. If anything he looked more grumpy than usual.

"SPEAK," he commanded, and Goku did. Even after all their training together, just communicating with the creature still proved difficult.

"I need your help Shenron – whatever you can do. I'm not exactly in great shape here. You helped us before." The saiyan decided to forego any small talk; this wasn't the time for it, and after trekking so far he was in no mood to beg.

"YOU ASK TOO MUCH," was Shenron's only answer. After saying his part the dragon uncoiled himself and pulled away from Goku, his head lazily drifting about the void.

"Please," Goku asked. "There isn't much time. Alpha has-"

"-TAKEN OVER YOUR FRIEND AND NOW FACES YOUR ALLIES. I KNOW. HE IS A THREAT TO US ALL; ONE WHICH I EXPECTED YOU WOULD HANDLE," judged the dragon.

"Well I failed," Goku reflected, gritting his teeth as he remembered. "And he put me in this state. I don't know if I'll recover before he gets here. Couldn't you do something to speed up the process?"

"I USED UP ALL MY ENERGY HELPING UUB TRANSPORT YOUR PEOPLE HERE."

"I don't believe that. Surely you must have some left!" cried Goku.

"BELIEVE IT OR DON'T. IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO ME. I NO LONGER HAVE ANY POWER CONCERNING THE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE."

Frustrated, Goku's eyes fell to the floor as his fists shook in irritancy; after all that effort he'd just wasted a trip. "How can you even say that?" he insisted. "Don't you care at all? I don't get how you can be so unreasonable!"

Furious, the dragon Shenron swivelled back around and launched himself at the saiyan, stopping only when his giant red eyes came inches from Goku's body, so close that his breath was a fan to cool him down. His words however did little to relax the saiyan, a lecture like a parent's scolding.

"YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME ABOUT BEING '_UNREASONABLE_'?" he boomed. "ALL THOSE YEARS – ALL THOSE WISHES. EVEN AFTER THAT I TRAINED YOU – I GAVE YOU THE DRAGON BALLS, ALL SO THAT YOU COULD STOP SOMETHING LIKE OMEGA HAPPENING AGAIN."

Goku remained silent, knowing he could do nothing except listen to Shenron's sermon; he was right after all.

"BUT YOU FAILED. YOU UNLEASHED A POWER EVEN GREATER THAN HIM. EVEN AFTER OMEGA YOU DIDN'T LEARN YOUR LESSON – YOU ACTUALLY HAD THE AUDACITY TO TURN TO ANOTHER SET OF DRAGON BALLS, A SET WITH POWER FAR GREATER THAN MY OWN. WHAT DID YOU REALLY THINK WOULD HAPPEN? SOMETIMES I THINK YOU JUST WANTED THE CHALLENGE."

The saiyan opened his mouth in protest, his only excuse for actions. "Chronus was tougher than we expected! He killed a lot of people – we had to use the Dragon Balls to revive everyone killed by him!"

"YOU SHOULD'VE LET THEM STAY DEAD. BY REVIVING THEM YOU BROUGHT A CREATURE INTO THE UNIVERSE UNLIKE ANYTHING IT HAS EVER SEEN BEFORE. CHRONUS WAS A CHILD COMPARED TO ALPHA – YOU HAVEN'T EVEN _BEGUN _TO WITNESS THE POWER HE WIELDS."

In truth Goku had suspected that; they'd posited that once Alpha broke free of Vegeta's shell he'd be even more powerful than before. If this was only the tip of the iceberg then it really was hopeless – by using the namekian Dragon Balls they'd doomed the universe. Their only chance now was to kill him whilst Vegeta still served as his host.

"So you really won't help us?" Goku asked, desperately hoping for the tiniest slither of support.

"I WISH I COULD GOKU, BUT I HAVE ALREADY DONE ALL I CAN. GODS AND DRAGONS CAN'T HELP YOU ANYMORE; THIS WAS A PROBLEM CREATED BY MORTALS, AND NOW IT SEEMS MORTALS ARE THE ONLY ONES CAPABLE OF STOPPING IT."

"I see." Turning away, Goku nodded his head in understanding. With his adrenaline on a high he found moving much easier - the Power Pole felt lighter in his hand. "Thanks anyway."

With that the saiyan made off back in the direction of Shenron's complex. He'd only gotten two steps however when he noticed the lightness of his body – at least in comparison to the gargantuan load he'd been carrying only five minutes ago. As he cast his eyes downwards once again Goku noticed something missing before.

His physique had buffed up a notch when he wasn't paying attention. A golden aura clung to his skin, and his vision became lensed with a heightened sense of awareness. A single golden lock then caught his attention, swaying like a tail around his left eye. _When did I turn Super Saiyan? _He wondered, having transformed during his conversation without even realising.

Upon seeing the change Shenron gave a few parting words. "IT LOOKS LIKE YOUR POWER IS RETURNING. WE ALL MAY LIVE TO SEE TOMORROW AFTER ALL."

Though far from enough to defeat Alpha, progress was still progress – Goku found he'd recovered far more quickly than he'd expected. It wasn't much – just a foot in the door – but there was still a chance that perhaps he might recover before their twenty-four hours was over. This wasn't like their previous outings where they strived to put a stop to foreign evil; _they _had created this thing, and it was their duty to stop it. After hearing Shenron's lecture, all Goku desired was one more chance to make things right.

"I hope you're right Shenron," he said.

* * *

Blue warmth bathed the back of each of each Z-Fighter as they plummeted like five burning missiles onto Alpha's leviathan of a planet. A hitch in Raditz's breath made him notice the now-familiar experience of dropping into atmosphere, a sudden weight-gain and a sensation of dizziness that he never quite managed to conquer.

His breathing grew heavier, but on land it was all made up for by the extra strength behind his muscles; he was back to the weight he'd lived his life in, with his arms and legs packing the exact power he wanted them to instead of swinging punches too fast and light for proper control.

As the air thickened around them the five dropped through a raincloud, homing in on the immense power radiating from the surface. The light disappeared in an instant, the clouds giving birth to a grey, overcast sky with enough wind to become a problem. Together the warriors fell through mist until land became visible.

Below, green bolts of lightning battled the planet in a haywire of directionless energy, stemming all from a single speck too far away to make out. Eyes weren't needed however; Alpha was down there with his portal, enjoying the scenery of a fiery pit, a canyon region and glacier all within looking distance.

Sand and dust quilted the rocks of Alpha's central site of entrance. The wind whipped up a stinging nimbus of particles from the ground every now and again, if only to rob the planet of its stillness and add atmosphere to the battleground (as though it needed any more drama). Cliffs hundreds of feet high closed off vast plains large enough to house a dozen World Martial Arts Tournaments, and in the basin of a single one their opponent lay in wait.

Alpha stood out in the open, shamelessly wearing Vegeta's skin to show it off proudly to any who might care. As the portal writhed beside him Raditz got a good look at the strange technique, a sphere without substance surrounded only by arcs of emerald thunder, growing in intensity by the moment. Looking into it Raditz saw only the land beyond, distorted and warped – a tear in space.

As the five landed one by one Alpha gave no indication that he even noticed them. Atop the cliffs high above they touched down, each taking a separate square corner to close him in should he try to escape. They looked intimidating enough, but Raditz still felt the fear; with the nearest fighter a whole league of open space away Alpha might finish one of them in an instant.

Only Gotenks decided to forego surrounding him. Instead the fusion glided straight down to the canyon floor, both blades gleaming in his hands as his boots hit the ground not twenty steps from the portal. At last Alpha decided to take notice. So far so good.

"I was wondering who would show up!" he announced. After a frightening burst of sudden energy he powered Vegeta straight back up to his Super Saiyan 5, followed by the Dragon Balls slowly emerging from his chest.

"I'll give you one chance to walk away," warned Gotenks. "Take it or leave it, it's a one-time offer."

Alpha lifted his eyebrows, half-amused by the threat as a grin came to his lips. "Aaand. . . If I refuse?" he asked.

"Everyone here has lost someone to this war. Frankly I'm the least of your problems. You really think you can stand up to that kind of vengeance? Please, be my guest."

Alpha chuckled in response. His eyes darted around the walls of the gorge, to Raditz on his right, Piccolo ahead of him, Novus to his left and finally Vardock behind them. He seemed to weigh them up in turn before finally turning back towards Gotenks. "I'm not _entirely _sure you know what you're up against," he reasoned.

"Oh think you'll find I know _exactly _who and what you are," Gotenks spat. "And believe me Alpha, I'm not scared in the least."

"Ha-haha," he began, calmly at first before erupting in laughter at the speech he'd heard. As he turned to the others he threw out his arms as if to welcome them, screaming out his next lines. "_IS THIS IT?_" he roared in amusement, voice filling the valley. "_Is this ALL you could send in your place GOKU?"_

Gotenks recoiled; even he was stricken by the man's insanity. "You sicken me," was all he managed.

"And why is that Gotenks?" Alpha jeered, "I'll have you know that your fight was one of my absolute favourites!"

"You're a monster. Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin, Tien, Pan, Hyperion; how many more before you're satisfied?"

"As many as it takes boy. And I may be a monster, but at least I know what I am – I like being this." Again Alpha Vegeta turned to address his whole crowd of five. "_NOT LIKE YOU LOT AM I?_ Look what poor pathetic self-loathing has-beens Goku sent me! A spoilt brat with a cocky façade as a mask for his daddy issues!" Alpha's red eyes peered over Gotenks, who tightened his grip on both swords before the dragon moved onto the next one, looking over to his right.

"A guilt-ridden turncoat forever in the shadow of his older brother!" he called up to Raditz. Without waiting for a reaction he cast his eyes to his beyond the fusion.

"A namekian warrior with half his concentration focused on trying to control the demon he trapped within him!"

Novus was his next pick. "A demi-god woman wrapped up in so many emotions she can't express! All that hatred of me and you still refuse to show a single glimmer of it!"

Finally Vegeta looked over his shoulder, up to Vardock perched atop the cliff behind him. "And an old man, desperate to set things right in the few fighting years he's got left.

"IS GOKU REALLY _THAT _OUT OF OPTIONS THAT HE SENT THE FIVE OF _YOU?_" he boomed. Gotenks could almost sense his arrogant, detestable mania; every word he said only confirmed the notion that he was out of his mind. "Half of you started on the right tracks! I mean think about it – I've got plenty of open spaces for Shadow Dragons now. You could even pick your own sin. You all know it's the only way you'll see another day, don't you?"

"I'd rather die here," started Gotenks, "than live one second under something like you."

"You sure? Riches, women, power, worlds, galaxies, eternal life? None of that sound good to you?" Alpha tempted.

"Go to hell."

"Ahh." The dragon released a sigh, bored with the obstinacy of his opponents. He listened another few seconds to see if there were any takers, and when none came he took to arching his neck, cracking twice. He moved on to his jaw and then finally his knuckles, after which he hopped up and down on the spot as he let fly a few practice punches as a warm-up, seemingly mocking his five foes.

Gotenks decided to mirror the dragon's flamboyant approach. In a daring move he took his eyes off Vegeta, looking over his back and shouting up to the namekian. "Good job Piccolo! I could've sworn you were gonna take him up that offer!"

"_You little-_"

"-So be it." After his generous offer had been declined being ignored only worsened Alpha's mood. Piccolo stopped mid-scolding when the dragon zapped ten steps forward faster than any could follow. In an instant his hand was on Gotenks's shoulder, and before he could swing just one slash of his blades Alpha gave a pull, ripping his arm from his body with nothing but his grip alone.

Gotenks screamed in agony as his free hand dropped his sword and flew up to the stump, where just a moment ago his right arm had been completely intact. He should've used it to defend however, as being completely exposed left Alpha to seize him by the neck, just as he'd done twice before now.

Three feet above the canyon floor he held the half-dead Gotenks as he licked his lips in anticipation, satisfied now that his confident enemy had been reduced to nothing but shrieks and wails. He realised his folly too late, noticing only when completely defenceless that no blood came from the wound he'd tore open. Instantly Gotenks's face changed – a cheesy smile marking his victory.

"Oh, you thought this was the real Gotenks did you?" he asked, faking genuine surprise. Alpha's eyes widened as the saiyan's body began to flash – a kamikaze ghost waiting to detonate. "Tickticktickticktickticktick ticktick BOOM!" he said.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Hahahaaaa I can only hope I had you all going then. Come on guys, one de-arming is enough for me, I'm not Tite Kubo.

So, it looks like Goku is getting better (somewhat) and we're ready for this giant battle royale with all the supporting characters. I really liked writing this chapter for pure build-up's sake, but honestly I have no clue how good or bad the next one is going to be.

See here's the thing. Writing three characters against one in those last few chapters was _ridiculously _hard work. You have to make sure everyone looks like they're pulling their weight and that everyone contributes some significant value – like without them the fight would be over in an instant. Writing _five_ though? Never been bold enough to even consider attempting it – it's probably the most ambitious thing I've ever done.

So yeah, got my fingers crossed that it's going to be really epic – like that final fight scene in The Avengers kind of epic. But if it isn't then it just means I still have a long way to go.

And I forgot to mention it in the last two chapters so I'll just put it here. . .

ZOMGFANGASM DBZ FILM NEXT YEAR! That's right, for those of you who've been living under a rock in terms of Dragon Ball news for the last two months, there is a Dragon Ball Z movie coming out next year, after like 15 years or so of them not making one. Never been a huge fan of the films but I'm stoked for this, firstly because Akira Toriyama is actually working on this one himself, and second for the animation quality. Anyone who's seen the recent specials by Toei Animation (specifically One Piece: Strong World and Episode of Bardock) will know what I mean - it's going to _look _incredible.


	29. Chapter 29 The Difference in Strength

Chapter 29: The Difference in Strength

With an explosion filling the canyon the fight had begun. Like an orbital strike the real Gotenks descended from above. He rushed into the flames with both swords at the ready, just moments before Alpha Vegeta fled the blaze. As Gotenks followed he brought the blast with him; flames licked his body and smoke wisped from the charred tufts of fur, but with a zealous look in his eyes of a shining sky-blue he persevered.

Alpha stopped in his tracks, determined to stop his attacker before realising that Gotenks was just a distraction. To his left and to his right two more fighters rushed in for the kill in a pincer attack. With a smile on his face Alpha Vegeta warped away faster than light, no doubt expecting his two foes to crash into each other the same way his last fight worked out.

Raditz stopped when he reached Alpha's last location and Novus cut across him, throwing out her hand just in time to catch the saiyan's tail and swing him with all her power. Like a missile Raditz careered into the Shadow Dragon. His strength became augmented with his new Kaio-Ken as all the speed and momentum gained by his ally's throw was transferred into his fist.

Vegeta crossed his arms to block, yet what seemed like an impossibility just a few hours ago had finally come to pass: Raditz's punch did damage. It wasn't much; the dragon skidded back across ten feet of sanded earth at the impact, his composure only ruffled, but it gave enough time for the next fighter to do his job.

Twelve beams, each one a vibrant purple and coiled with a spiral of golden light, stung like laser blasts one after another to different points on Vegeta's body. Each Special Beam Cannon made him recoil; some even shot holes through the thinner parts of his flesh.

Another blast, this one blue, finalised the combo by hitting the back of Alpha's head. A technique that could normally blow a man's head clean off looked to have the same effect as a powerful slap to the dragon, but after feeling that his target was made.

Raditz had noticed it last time; Alpha tended to go for the weakest first, to eliminate his competition from the bottom up to make sure the strongest was left standing. In their previous battle Raditz himself had been the brunt of this tactic, but of the five fighters here it was Vardock whose energy signal was comparatively low.

The dragon chuckled in glee and whirled around, releasing a storm of tiny energy blasts with a single dramatic wave of his left arm. Vardock stopped to analyse them, closing his eyes. He waited until they were upon him before finally reacting. After seeing it in his mind's eye the Super Saiyan 4 already knew where to move.

Incredibly the fusion made no move to flee or defend himself. He picked a flawless path through the thousand shots, darting left and right as every bullet seemed to miss him by no more than a hair's breadth. Vardock emerged from the other side unscathed, his look conveying just how unimpressed he was.

In light of his prey's mockery Alpha Vegeta pitched back another arm, though his chance to fire was denied as a supple green whip crashed against the back of his knees, tripping him to the ground as his bolt welt flying harmlessly to the atmosphere.

Looking up he saw that Vardock hopped over it with ease, and after following it to its point of origin he realised it was Piccolo's arm, stretched to its limit as he lashed it from a whole league away. The battle had barely gotten started and already he found himself losing. Alpha grinned; it impressed him that these meagre powers had banded together to make something formidable – this promised to be fun.

Enjoyment however was far from Alpha's mind when he flipped back to his feet and took note of the situation he was in. Gotenks had closed him down – _lots _of Gotenks. At a quick count he estimated two hundred ghosts, each grinning like an idiot as they flashed in and out of light. They formed a ring around him and even made a human wall above to prevent his escape to the air. This, he knew, might hurt a bit.

"_Everybody get down!_" Piccolo's warning was the last thing Alpha heard before the ghosts detonated. The eruption this time turned the canyon into dust, a nuclear bomb visible from space, leaving a wound in the planet that would never heal.

As the flames shot up with the smoke they carried Alpha with them, limp and burned as another Z-Fighter soared through the clouds to meet him. They showed him no quarter, ever as ruthless as he had been, knowing that if they didn't take every opportunity given to them they wouldn't survive long.

With his belly to the sky Alpha Vegeta let the explosion propel him higher. He kept his eyes closed, feigning unconsciousness as he waited for the moment to attack – just when Raditz thought he'd landed another blow. At the last moment the dragon whirled back into flight, his movement dodging the saiyan's fist whilst retaliating with one of his own, sending Raditz plummeting back through a layer of dew. A second Z-Fighter however, caught him unawares.

Novus approached from behind. Her small, petite form gave absolutely no indicator of the power she wielded, but after feeling a two-handed, overhead strike for himself Alpha could confirm that she was truly Hyperion's spawn. Raditz had been a ruse – something to keep his attention divided whilst she hit him with a much harder blow.

Worse still, his assault on Raditz hadn't gone as well as it should've. It was a commonly known trait of theirs, but despite occupying the body of one Alpha had forgotten a crucial detail about the saiyan race: they grew stronger in defeat.

As he plunged past the long-haired Super Saiyan, Raditz span into a recovery. His aura set alight with the spiralling wisps of a Kanzen Kaio-Ken, and now at full power his blows became hammer falls to Alpha's mortal body. Like a machine gun the punches kept on coming; they left dentures the shape of fists in Vegeta's abdomen and burned white-hot with energy to the touch.

After already being dazed by the demi-god, Raditz's incessant barrage proved more than enough. Alpha couldn't recover; his body wouldn't let him act fast enough before another fist the mass of a freighter slammed home to his gut. In the end Raditz pulled up and left the dragon falling.

They'd gone far in the sky. He and Alpha left behind the wasteland Gotenks levelled in favour of a new environment, this one a twinkling blue region of ice populated by snaking tracks of white mist.

As Alpha crashed to the surface fragments scattered, shards as big as his head leapt up in the explosion before cascading back to the ground, glassy and reflective like a broken diamond. No time to take in the scenery; Raditz pulled back his arms and channelled ki as his aura burst to life around him.

"_Kaio-Cannon!_" Blood red and vicious came the blast, a waterfall of incredible energy burying itself a mile deep into the planet before exploding, adding to the carnage with a pale eruption pluming to the sky. Raditz remained poised as he steadied his breathing and slowed to a hover, finding the younger fusion had warped to his side without his noticing.

"_Whew!_" cried Gotenks, lifting a hand to his forehead as he examined the destruction. "Not bad Raditz! I didn't think you had it in you!"

"Let's not count our chickens; if that was all it took to beat him we wouldn't be here in the first place," said Raditz.

"Yeah I know, but he's got me to contend with once he comes out of there."

Raditz gave a suspicious glance to the fused saiyan. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the man seemed off. His ki was unstable and his breathing erratic; surely a Super Saiyan 5 wasn't having trouble keeping up? No - that wasn't it. "You're not really Gotenks are you?" he asked eventually.

"Nope! Who you gonna call?" After an ill-timed reference the clone set off. Falling from the clouds an army of identical ghosts chased his tail, closing in on the ice as Alpha burst from his tomb, ready to annihilate Raditz for daring to attack him.

Fortunately his chance never came. This time the ghost armada didn't attack as a single unit; rather they approached one at a time. Like heat-seeking rockets they homed in on their prey, a thousand copies chasing a single mark as Alpha dodged left and right amidst the fireworks of exploding Gotenks. He slammed them against each other, punched them away or blasted them out of the sky, but in spite of his efforts more kept coming.

For a moment Raditz feared he might get caught in the crossfire. At any given moment at least fifty were streaming past him in a blur, dive-bombing from the above. In the end Alpha got so sick of it that he went overboard.

A charge of energy from his body released a shockwave, blending bursts of green, violet and black as it blew away every Gotenks around him. It was a waste; far more energy than he intended to use and all for naught as the real Super Saiyan 5 whizzed past Raditz with both swords in hand. In one move he rammed Trunks's longsword and Goten's Life's Blade straight through Vegeta's gut.

Blood coated both edges as gimlets of it dripped to the ice below. The swords hummed with energy as their wielder channelled his own into the blades; yet save for a brief look of discomfort Alpha Vegeta seemed largely unaffected, even as a small river of blood flowed down from the corner of his mouth. He reached out a hand and clasped the saiyan's shoulder, dragging him closer as the swords were thrust deeper into his stomach.

"Careful kiddo, this is still Vegeta's body. You wouldn't want to do it any lasting damage would y-"

A namekian's boot finished Alpha's sentence for him. Piccolo descended from above, his solid heel meeting Vegeta's skull with a bang that sent him hurtling back down to the ground. Alpha flipped and landed on both feet, the impact cracking the ice around him. He licked his lips as he stared up in anticipation; already they could see the two stab wounds beginning to close up – he was preparing for round two.

_Come on that's our cue! _A voice inside his mind spurred Raditz into action. Leaving Gotenks and Piccolo behind he angled to a dive, pulling up only when the time arrived to arch himself into a flying kick. Blocking such a move would've been child's play for Alpha, but blocking two at once was impossible.

Novus had come again, taking her place parallel to Raditz as she leaned forward, putting all her weight into an opening punch. In the end all Alpha could do was hop backwards to dodge. He looked about to counter, although he quickly found himself swarmed as both warriors took on their roles.

The assault was relentless as the two Z-Fighters came at him, punches and kicks thrown in a furious blitz desperately trying to exploit any opening in his guard. One would dash forward and trade blows, and in their moment of weakness the other would rush in and resume the attack before Alpha had any time to kill them. Adding to the carnage a multitude of blasts rained down from the skies, snapping at his heels to corner Vegeta whenever he took a step back.

As Raditz backed off Novus closed in. Her palms glowed with a faint hint of white as she dished out a number of strikes. First corkscrewing to a kick, the Vicis followed up with a triad of blows; first to the torso, then to the head and finally a sweeping leg kick designed to trip the opponent. None landed clean, but Novus wasn't done as she unleashed a barrage of punches in her frustration, each a miniature cannon.

Her mistake was realised when Alpha seized her wrist: she'd taken too long, hogging all the attacking time for herself and giving the dragon a chance to predict her movements.

"Gotcha," he whispered. A roar from behind signalled Raditz flying in to save her, but he too was thwarted as Alpha pulled her back and brought up his leg, boot meeting face with an impact knocking the saiyan to the ground. Novus swung with her free hand – a frantic bid to get loose – but it only went wide as Alpha jerked her to her knees and drove his elbow into her back.

Now that his immediate threats had been disabled Alpha turned his eyes to the two pests laying down cover. He aimed his hands in a familiar pose, his form taking on a dark impression as the Dragon Balls added power to Vegeta's already terrifying signature. Red ki swirled to open palms, and his face took on a grin; with the technique's size he could take them both out in one shot.

"_CRIMSON OBLIVION!_"

The speeding afterimage of a man shot past them as the beam screamed to the air. Throwing out his arms he dragged both Gotenks and Piccolo with him, his acceleration allowing him to pull both out of the way of the magnificent blast headed their way. The three watched in awe as the Crimson Oblivion dissipated into nothingness; if they'd been hit, nothing would've remained of them either.

"You ought to be more careful," said Vardock – of course it was Vardock. "I just saw that attack kill both of you."

"Great," moaned Gotenks. "That wasn't creepy at all. I think I'm more afraid of Mr. Psychic here than I am of Alpha."

"_Out of the way!_" Vardock's reply was little more than a cry of desperation; he'd seen something once again, and the trained namekian warrior responded suitably.

Piccolo grabbed both by their tails and flung them in opposite directions, having noticed Alpha's move only moments after the fusion foresaw it. A blade of green rushed up to meet him as a curved, buzzing saw of energy too powerful for him to match, and too fast for him to evade. Luckily his sudden act of valour placed him in a non-fatal position to receive it.

That didn't stop it hurting like hell though. Piccolo had lost count of the amount of times his arm had been severed, but none of them were as painful as this. The blade stopped at his shoulder, spinning in place to slowly tear apart his flesh as purple gushed from the open wound, until finally it ripped its way through his muscles.

Being disarmed was only half of Alpha's attack; the dragon soared up to meet him, and as Piccolo roared in agony clutching a bloodied stump he drove both fists forward, meeting chest and gut simultaneously. The effect was exactly as he'd planned it: the namekian was sent flying out of sight in an instant.

The impact might've knocked a weaker fighter out cold. Again and again Piccolo felt his skull meet ice and mountains and rocks and packed earth as he hurtled through barrier after barrier without breath or sight. Fortunately for him, part of his daily routine involved wearing a turban, the weight of which in metric tonnes he'd lost count of long ago – his head was nothing if not sturdy.

In the end he retained consciousness, even when his flight was grinded to a halt by a dense rock wall that absorbed all his speed in an instant. He found himself flattened against the wall, a crater forming a bed for his half-dead body as his neck ached with the sudden whiplash. Slowly, he reopened one eye.

The scene around him had transformed again. Where he'd once been stood over a mountainous series of icebergs a furnace had took its place, totally barren save for the namek-sized hole he'd tore down to get here. The air was hot with steam and dark fumes. Above him the walls closed upwards to a funnel shape, and below lay a pit of lava, bubbling angrily as a reaction to being disturbed.

"Great, a volcano," he grumbled, pushing himself free. With a hiss of pain he inspected the wound of his amputation. The blades had ripped apart his muscles, failing to cauterise it like most blasts usually did. The result meant that it didn't stop bleeding; in his twenty-odd seconds of agony he'd lost more blood than he liked. Colour faded from his jade skin and his legs felt shaky already.

When it all added up, Piccolo's condition put him hardly in a state to react when Alpha came streaming like a rocket through the gap he'd made in the volcano. It was all he could do to raise his arm and defend himself, but the dragon's attack stopped short just a metre from its target.

Novus and Raditz appeared, each clinging to an arm of Vegeta's as they desperately held him in place. The amount of energy they spent to catch and hold onto him hardly seemed worth it, but Piccolo vowed to thank them for it later. In the meantime he couldn't waste the chance they'd given him.

A low rumble like processed gravel quickly loudened to a great bellow as Piccolo tensed his shoulder with all his might. With fangs bared he arched his body for a telegraphed attack – the wind-up for a right hook. As his roar reached its peak Piccolo swung his empty limb. Right on cue his arm regrew, slick with newborn fluids as his clenched fist slammed home. If blasting him with ki didn't work they'd just have to pummel him into oblivion.

Just one blow wouldn't satisfy Piccolo though. The green fighter kept on throwing them, slugging Alpha repeatedly across the jaw and temples to make his head rock left to right with each attack. In truth the dragon couldn't have picked a better host; as he continued to thrash his target Piccolo paid special attention to Vegeta's face, making sure to remember all the horrific acts the saiyan had committed in his younger days. It made his attacks that much more powerful, so that when the others approached from behind Alpha was more concerned with the enemy in front of him.

Vardock came first, following the dragon's line of flight as he closed in and rammed a knee into Alpha's spine. If that wasn't punishment enough Gotenks followed suit, flying down through the mouth of the volcano. An audible _crack _could be heard when his elbow met Vegeta's cranium, but it was the end result that pleased them the most.

Alpha was sent flailing in an embarrassing series of flaps to the molten pool beneath him. With a greedy embrace the lava swallowed him whole, responding to its meal with only a bubbling _gloop_ that could be mistaken at first for a belch.

For a few moments there was stillness. None said a word as they allowed themselves to believe for a moment that Alpha had been slain by a pit of magma. His energy reading vanished – masked or dead it made little difference; the only thing that mattered was that all five were clueless.

In the end their hopes were unfounded though. The quiet proved to be the calm before the storm, as the sudden spitting and boiling of the red substance beneath them proved only one thing. One didn't need foresight to know what was about to happen, but it was Vardock who spoke first nonetheless.

"_GO!_" At the fusion's cue the remaining four followed his command. Auras flared in a sequence of brightly coloured bursts as each fighter shifted to top gear to escape the pyre. They left the chimney in a line, banking in each a different direction as the volcano growled like a feral dog beneath them.

Only when all five were clear did the thing erupt, a vertical shower of scorched earth and flaming debris like a giant cocktail of vinegar and baking soda. It leapt hundreds of feet into the air – pluming in a fountain at its highest point – before cascading back down in a million smaller droplets, deadly to the quintet of Z-Fighters either dodging in a rave or batting them away with a buzz of energy.

At the heart of the explosion Alpha stood. He breathed in labouring heaves, his expression wild as his charred, mortal form began to regenerate after being burned to a crisp. Only his eyes remained intact, opaque and glowing red; the rest was blackened by his toasting or restoring itself as pink splodges sprang up all over his body. He opened his mouth to speak – to carry on his soliloquizing as he berated them for even trying – but his words fell on deaf ears, drowned out by the feminine voice screaming in the mind of each fighter.

_Blast him!_ Novus cried. Five raging impressions of ki sprang up around the fighters as they each concentrated the vast bulk of their energy into a single shot. Wayward power splayed about them in a mess, ki frothing to the palms of their hands and dispersed in a short radius around them. Gold, white, red, blue, green and violet waves reached their ultimate strength before long. Alpha remained in place, as if inviting them to try their best. They could only oblige him.

"_Special Beam Cannon!_"

"_Kamehameha!_"

"_Divine Blaster!_"

"_Riot Javelin!_"

"_Kaio-Cannon!_"

True to his beckoning the dragon stayed put. He eyed each beam with an airy look of indifference as they approached from different angles, forming a five-pointed star with him right at its centre. He flared his aura only at the last moment, throwing out his arms to repel all of them at once with his strength alone.

His plan didn't quite go according to plan. Rather than detonating on impact or being deflected away from their target the five remained, bearing down upon him like a tidal wave of energy – a cavalcade of different techniques threatening only when used as one. At the tail ends of the beams the fighters held steady. They poured more and more ki to their hands in desperation, swelling the attacks to unbelievable sizes at the cost of their own energy.

_It's working! _Gotenks called out, using the link Novus made rather than attempting to speak over the great thunder of their combined effort. Whether it damaged him or not was hard to say, but Alpha was certainly in no position to retaliate. His arms, once fully outstretched and welcoming, began to bend closer towards him as they trembled. The veins on Vegeta's temples throbbed and his brow sweated, straining themselves to keep up with the great gushing mess of energy. The Dragon Balls fixed to his chest glowed brighter than ever, and after seeing that Piccolo knew he was using all the power they had to hold back the storm.

They had him held in place; one giant blast at point blank range would be enough to finish Alpha off. Unfortunately there was no sixth member to speak of. If only Goku, Gohan or Vegeta were still in play the battle would be brought to a close here and now. For the time being it seemed all they could do was trap him, and that didn't last long either.

Vardock's knees began to buckle as Novus grew short of breath and Raditz low on energy. Each fighter found the grip on their beams beginning to slip, getting weaker and weaker until Alpha finally repelled them. With a great spin he sent all five blasts off in different directions. Some exploded upon the surface and some zoomed into space; the Riot Javelin was even knocked towards Gotenks, who swerved to avoid it after being warned ahead of time.

Five pairs of eyes expanded in fear, as Alpha remained, unperturbed by his sudden challenge. He clearly hadn't expected to sacrifice so much energy against them; the time for amusing himself was at an end. That attack drove a realisation into him – if he refused to take them seriously he'd be the one to die first.

"So!" he called, addressing the crowd. "Seems you're not all bark after all!"

* * *

"Come on!" pleaded the saiyan. "It's that simple – all I need is a ride back. You brought my dad back to the living for a whole day if I remember right!"

Fallen heroes stood in a ring around a shrewd old woman, each adorned with a halo. Pan, Tien and Krillin hardly seemed eager to set off again, but Gohan had been brimming with energy and impatience ever since the day he died. Just watching the events through a tournament screen or some murky crystal ball weren't enough; the more of it he saw, the more of him wanted to get out there and fight.

Of course, being dead had quickly put a stopper on those hopes. It wasn't until he remembered the World Martial Arts Tournament all those years ago that his faith was rekindled. Goku had been permitted a full day's worth of vacation in the world of the living, the day they freed Majin Buu. In remembering this Gohan hoped that the powers governing Other World would grant him the same request; they were not so forthcoming.

Fortuneteller Baba spent the last half an hour trying to tell him it was a special case – that these things have to be planned ahead of time and that it takes a tremendous amount of energy to will someone back where their body does not belong. Gohan heard only excuses. He argued and argued until his throat ran dry, believing the wrinkled old crone simply refused to stick out her neck.

Kibito-Kai was also present, but for the last few hours it seemed all he did was apologise on behalf of both parties, trying to stop a fight breaking out between the beefed-up saiyan and the two-foot tall hag. Gohan actually _envied _him briefly: Among them he was the only fighter able to cross between the dimensions of life and death whenever he pleased. Ironically he was also one of the only fighters too physically weak to assist them in combat.

"I hate to say it but you'd be better off trying to get blood from a stone," offered Tien, stood quietly with his arms folded across his chest.

"He's got a point Gohan," said Krillin, shrugging in apology. "We _did _die after all. Maybe we just need to accept that this is the part where we just can't do any more."

Accepting difficult council was always hard. Gohan clucked his tongue and gave up with a sigh, finding comfort only when Pan came over and put her arm around him.

"You'll figure something out," she said. "And even if you don't, grandpa's gonna win this right?"

Gohan said nothing for a moment. Instead his eyes met that of his father's oldest friends. They'd seen the truth for themselves; they knew how hopeless the situation had become. Only Pan could continue to cling to blind faith. Of course Gohan believed in his father, but against such overwhelming odds – in his current condition – he wondered just how long they could hold out without assistance.

For all his misgivings Gohan couldn't relay them to his daughter. The way her eyes twinkled with romantic notions about fighting; telling her his true feelings might crush her. At the very least, one of them had to remain optimistic.

"Yeah, he'll win alright," he said.

As Pan questioned the long pause Gohan caught sight of another ray of hope. A flash registered across his senses and then arrived, a man shining white and golden against the drab décor of the Grand Kai's estate. Hyperion had arrived. Part of Gohan suspected he'd merely gone back to his gates upon death, but his presence confirmed otherwise. The saiyan nearly jumped for joy as he rushed over, hands clasped together in begging.

"Hyperion! It's you! I need safe passage into the world of the living – the more bodies we have on the field, the better chance we stand against Alpha."

The old god looked at him sideways, and his tilted eyebrows showed only confusion and scorn at Gohan's pleadings. He said nothing in reply, prompting the saiyan to carry on.

"You do that don't you?" he asked. "I heard it off Raditz. Your sword can break a halo right? I thought maybe he was joking at first but you never know!"

Hyperion shook and touched his forehead, apparently in awe of Gohan's lack of understanding. "Just returning you to the living wouldn't be enough. You'd need to then fly through my portal – which by the way takes around six months to reach by Vegeta's count."

Gohan's heart sunk, and just when his mind jumped to another alternative Hyperion shot him down before his lips could move.

"And that's beside the point that my sword is gone," he lamented. "I couldn't restore life to you even if I wanted to. It was sent spinning into the cosmos before I was destroyed; there won't be any more resurrections until it returns to me."

The saiyan was about to ask what he meant when he said his sword would somehow 'return' to him when he realised it was pointless; these god-figures and their secret energies would never make sense to him. For the time being, all it meant was that he was stuck here in death, watching the remaining hours tick by without a damn thing he could do to stop it.

Baba nearly jumped off her seat as the crystal ball she used as a perch suddenly bloomed a full spectrum of colours, its image lighting up the garden so brightly that each fighter took to covering their eyes. Reflected in the globe nothing was visible but sparks and crashing waves, a maelstrom of battling powers all suddenly coming to a peak. Focusing it didn't help either; Baba stared intently at the ball for a full minute until Gohan decided she'd burst a blood vessel before making the picture any clearer. Fortunately Kibito-Kai was on hand to help.

The fusion pulled out his own crystal ball, the same one he received from the Elder. With his powers far exceeding the old crone's the polished surface displayed a scene much easier to understand. Raditz, Piccolo, Gotenks, Novus and Vardock had just unleashed a plethora of finishing moves, raging against Alpha's defences as a five-sided star of compressed energy. They held him back for a time, but in the end the dragon repelled the surge. Now he looked more dangerous than ever.

"Damn it," Gohan swore. "If only I could get down there." He turned to the ancient witch, asking one last time for her help. "I hate to go on but there _must _be _something _you can do! I'll take all the time I can get."

The pink-haired crone shook her head and bared a set of crooked, yellow teeth. "Impossible," she said. "Your father was allowed back for a day – he spent his last few hours away just by fighting for a few moments and flexing his muscles. With the strength you now carry it'd be pointless. We'd be sending you back for a minute – maybe less."

"It's better than nothing! I can help with one minute; if we can all synchronise an attack then we might stand a chance. Kibito-Kai, could you get a message to my dad?"

The overseer nodded. "Of course. Anything you need."

"Limiting your time isn't the only downfall of your energy," the fortune teller went on. "A being that powerful is beyond our control – we wouldn't be able to send you back to exactly the right place. It's like aiming a cannonball too big to fire; you'd end up suffocating in the void of space."

"I can survive in space, and if you get me just within range then Uub or Novus can pick me up with the Instant Transmission," reminded Gohan, yet it seemed for all his pleadings the old bat wasn't satisfied.

She shook her head and tapped at the glowing crystal ball. "It's useless I'm afraid. Even with all that, the fact remains that it wasn't long ago when we brought back your dad. I doubt Other World has sufficient power to send you back after having such a short time to recover."

Gohan's eyes rolled back in disbelief as his jaw almost hit the ground. "That was almost thirty years ago!" he insisted.

"It was?" Baba looked around and scratched her head, blind to the multitude of obvious stares waiting on her next word. "Huh," she figured, "I suppose that doesn't seem like very long at my age."

The saiyan carried his pause to let her finish. The problem had vanished; all this time they'd been arguing over nothing. "So you _can _send me back?" he prompted, careful not to set her off again.

"Eh?" said Baba. "Oh – sure, I'll see what I can do."

Relief blended with frustration as Gohan clenched his fists and punched one to the sky. Cell might've been gone, but as long as Alpha remained he couldn't count himself out just yet. Again he glanced sideways to Kibito-Kai's crystal ball, nervously checking the progress of the fight. If he got there before the portal opened then maybe – just maybe – they could stop all this before anyone else died.

"I'll make arrangements right away," said the Kai. "But you're sure about this Gohan? You might just get a minute or two, and you risk having your existence wiped away; if Alpha kills you whilst you're already dead there won't be anything me or even Hyperion can do for you."

"Don't sweat it. I'll just be sure not to die."

"Oh yeah, because that worked out so well last time," chided Krillin.

"Look who's talking!"

* * *

Firecrackers flourished in multi-coloured bombs across the sky. Fighters swerved between one another as the battle took to the air. Their auras wove loops and helixes, spiralling between bodies. With each bank of flight one the five would loose a torrent of energy, intersecting with another and matching Alpha's blasts to form another great bang above ground.

Before long the clouds had been shredded in the blaze. The sky lost its natural colour and instead took on the look of permanent dusk, freckled with streaks of a deep brown or green or red. Only the blue sun's light provided some kind of ambience, although even Novus was hardly grateful for it when Alpha used it to his advantage.

They chased him into the sky, bolts clipping his heels as all five twisted into aerial manoeuvres. Being above them gave the dragon another ally. He would eclipse the sun with his body, and then, when a Z-Fighter got close, move away to let its fullest intensity hit them for a brief moment of blindness. They'd been caught out with that trick a few times already; Piccolo had been forced to regenerate another arm.

_It's as though he was merely testing the water before, _said Novus. _Now it seems he's jumped right in_.

It was true; Alpha pulled out every trick in the book – every wily tactic he had to evade them and strike back with everything he had. The weakest, the fusion rings, the groin; no target was off limits. Fortunately they survived with all three intact, but the fighters sensed he'd do anything to bring this battle to a close, knowing no doubt that Goku would challenge him again before this was over.

"_Kanzen Kaio-Ken!"_ An attack from Raditz snatched Novus from her thoughts; they moved in for close combat again, sailing past the others whilst a rain of energies pelted up from below. In reaching Alpha the Vicis led with a looping left hook. He ducked, arching back for a blow when Raditz intercepted him.

Alpha's fist was as fast as any. With his left hand the dragon matched the blow, repelling a red and blue shockwave as his punch met Raditz's in a show of sparks and power. Now was her chance; Novus reined back a kick aimed for his neck.

Her attack was inches from making a connection – a serious impact that would knock him from the sky – when Alpha's second hand snapped up. Vegeta's scarred right arm grabbed her from flight and held her aloft by the ankle, baiting her in front of Raditz. The saiyan was furious with himself; he'd never been put in a situation like it before, and any move he made might result in her execution.

His anger was short lived however when Alpha slammed his fist into her back. The impact sent Novus flying, her range ensuring she crashed straight into Raditz and sent both of them plummeting back into free fall, distorted shapes whizzing past the others before they had time to realise they were two fighters down. In that moment Novus knew she'd lost; her back felt like it had been hit by a train, and if her strength was any indicator then Raditz would be just as badly injured.

Piccolo responded appropriately to seeing his student knocked out. In a rage the namekian flew up to meet his foe, landing only a few claws across Vegeta's abs before meeting his comeuppance. Deaf to the inane shouting of Vardock and Gotenks, he saw too late the malevolent blast meeting his chest, sending him as a charred, darker shade of green to join the unconscious pair below.

"_Piccolo!_" roared Gotenks. "To hell with it!"

"_Gotenks w_-"

But the fusion was already gone; now that their strategy was out of the window an all-out attack was the only thing left. Gotenks didn't even get that much dignity. He crossed both blades as he reached top speed and channelled ki into the naked edges, promising to give Alpha a carvery he wouldn't soon recover from. He was cut down before his attack was complete; the dragon warped to a spot before him and threw a punch, and the fusion's momentum did the rest. He ran right into it.

The trip down back to the surface was hardly a long one. Alpha's attack made his falling body break the sound barrier with ease, and his state of blurry confusion made the wait even shorter. Whatever breath he regained in his descent was drove out of him once again as he hit the ground. Falling diagonally made his body skid - hardly a crater and more like the site of a plane crash as his flailing, bouncing form destroyed the ground.

Tasting blood in his mouth, Gotenks pushed free and forced himself back to his feet. At a glance he thought he'd died and gone to some shadowy realm of reapers as punishment. The space around him became an ancient forest. Nothing but thin, gnarled trees like the hands of old men twisted from ashen grass as far as the eye couldn't see, which wasn't far at all with the thick quilt of white fog winding about the clearing.

Gotenks was only half-aware that he looked to be on the set for some horror film. Most of his attention was devoted to checking his injuries; how much blood he'd lost and what condition his bones were in. Through a drunken haze of red he saw that he'd live, but the fact remained that he was in no shape to fight. The battle had taken everything from them.

When Alpha descended Gotenks was unprepared. Combined years of trained combat instincts forced his heart to beat faster as his arms moved without his will, but his reactions were sluggish, his body failing to respond properly to the orders he issued. His reflexive block parried the first blow, but the second pounded his stomach like churning butter.

Breathless he dropped to his knees. Swords clattered by his sides as he steeled himself for death, but none came – at least not immediately. Instead Alpha wanted to remove all risk before he acted; rather than aiming for the neck as he usually did, Alpha seized the fusion's limp fist and held it in his own.

A cry leapt from Gotenks as the dragon squeezed his hardest. He couldn't see it, but within Vegeta's grip like a vice he could feel his bones breaking, fingers snapping digit by digit. Alpha licked his lips in satisfaction, enjoying the saiyan's torture in his own way – penance for the ghost armada he'd made him dodge like a performing monkey. In the end the inevitable happened. A clear ringing sounded through the woods as metal and crystal snapped, and with a flash of light one man became two.

"Huh?" Trunks looked around. Beside him Goten lay clutching a broken hand; he'd taken the hand-crushing whereas Trunks himself received only the bloodshot vision and half-consciousness. Given the circumstances, he considered himself lucky. Fragments of Goten's fusion ring were scattered across the pine – totally unfixable. Trunks's own was still intact, but the two were a set, and one without the other was useless.

"You always get the better injuries!" Goten yelled, growling back strained curses in an attempt to reduce the amount of pain surging up his arm.

"Quit complaining, we're both dead anyway," said Trunks.

"_Right you are!_"

Trunks never saw him move, but as he tried to blink away his swimming sight Alpha vanished in a flash, reappearing only a second later with his hands clawed into a familiar pose. Trunks swallowed a gulp; to him, this was a saiyan equivalent of staring down the barrel of a gun. He bolted to a run, though a single shot from Alpha's Dragon Balls grounded him. Goten intervened too, but a broken hand prevented him from doing much as the dragon swatted him aside with a single kick, never breaking his stance.

"Dad. . ." pleaded Trunks. There was nothing left anymore; the once cool, composed exterior of his father had been replaced with a figure of crazed mania. No amount of begging or divine intervention would make Vegeta somehow break free of his prison, he understood that now.

"_CRIMSON!_"

As Alpha's palms glowed a sultry red Trunks closed his eyes for the finale. He told himself the sound of feet hitting the ground was just his imagination, but Goten's sudden yap told him otherwise. Someone had arrived, standing in the space between Trunks and oblivion.

"Take my life for theirs Alpha. I'm an old man you see." It was Vardock, standing without so much as a shudder as the glowing mass of energy started to swell. Alpha's smile warped to a snigger; he found drama to be so entertaining, especially when it involved sacrifice. Vardock only smiled as he gave his last farewells.

"I normally don't do these kinds of things," he started, "but you see this might be the only chance left. . . The King wants to apologise. Vegeta, he's sorry this happened to you, and if he could trade places then he would. He knows nothing he can say will change your opinion of him, but all the same, he hopes that one day you'll forgive him. Stay alive in there."

Vegeta's attack reached its prime, and in the few seconds he had left the fusion turned an eye to Goten, still recovering at the base of a splintered tree. "Bardock's glad he got to meet you and your family. He knows that when you of the younger generation take our place you'll step up to the role and won't disappoint. As for me. . ."

Vardock stared back toward the gushing mass of death. He closed his eyes and opened up his arms, embracing it like an old friend. "_I wouldn't mind seeing this technique of yours!_"

"_OBLIVION!_"

The flash before him made Trunks shield his eyes, but over Goten's wail of protest and the howl of Vegeta's attack he heard the blood-crazed roar of a saiyan in death. Vardock's form was a mere silhouette against the wave, drinking in the light to ensure nothing slipped past and hit Trunks. They'd done nothing but argue in life, and only in death did they find mutual respect.

As the beam reached its peak Vardock's body was obliterated completely. Ashes took his place, slowly cascading before the saiyan's fearful expression; he was gone, and nothing in this world could bring him back. All the things Trunks had to say would be left unspoken, leaving him only with a pit of guilt; would things be different if they acted differently?

Alpha didn't care too much for these thoughts. He sniggered as Vardock's remaining dust fled with the wind. The trees around him were ripped from their roots and the grass was blackened in the explosion; only two segments of land remained untouched, the spots where Trunks and Goten lay prostrate and helpless. With his last breath Vardock had saved them, giving his own life in place of theirs.

"Aww, how touching!" Alpha mocked. He began a slow clap. "I mean _wow_, that was really tear-jerking!"

"Shut up. _Shut up_, _SHUT UP! I'm sick of listening to your psychotic rambling!_" cried Goten. Even after all the damage he was back on his feet. With a mangled right hand he couldn't summon his sword, but it looked like he was about to do whatever he could to avenge his grandfather. Trunks called out to stop him, finding only a dry throat in place of words.

"Oh, my mistake. Where were we?" Alpha asked. With one hand he conjured a deadly ball of ki. The other was raised, ready to counter with a jab should Goten slip past him. The saiyan had already set off when their saving grace intervened.

A flash of colour warped into existence, grabbing hold of Goten and disappearing with him before Trunks had time to register movement. Alpha's eyes immediately shot his way. A presence appeared like a click of the fingers, blinking across the saiyan's senses for half an instant before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Alpha turned and let fly his prepared globe of energy as Trunks watched it close in, but his vision turned white, leaving him with no clue of the their fate as he hurtled through a void in dimensions.

He recognised this feeling the moment he hit the ground. They'd passed into Shenron's domain – rescued by someone – but who? His question was answered as his oldest friend screamed in alarm.

"_UUB!_"

Before even seeing the damage Trunks knew what had happened – the tone in Goten's voice said it all. Even so, he turned to look out of instinct. Alpha's blast had hit him in the moment of their teleport, following him through the veil. Uub lay eagle-spread upon the polished surface of the dragon's lair, his eyes still open, fixed into his final realisation that he was about to die.

Blood from the wound in his side bled crimson stains in streams down the hall, but the physical injury had only done so much. It was the evil – the raw amount of negative energy slamming into him – that had killed Uub right on the spot. With his power stripped even a stray blast of Alpha's was enough to finish him in one, regardless of where it hit. At least it had been quick.

"_Uub wake up!_"

"He's gone, Goten."

"_Wake up!_"

"I said he's gone!" Trunks shoved his friend away. Goten's intentions were sincere, but banging on Uub's chest wasn't likely to do anything except break the ribs of his corpse. Instead Trunks settled for closing his eyes, so that Uub's last look of fear could be mistaken for a peaceful slumber. As he reclined back the saiyan's fist hit the floor, his hand making craters in polished steel.

_Damn it all._

* * *

_._

* * *

Author's Notes: Dun, dun, dun. . . Another one bites the dust! Well, another _two _if you want to get technical, or is it three? Fusion joke!

So the finale was continued with rather disastrous results this time around. King Vegeta and Bardock got some manner of closure and Uub got to sacrifice himself for a greater cause, giving me less characters to write for next time (doesn't that just sound awful?). At the same time, Goku is still in recovery and the fates of Raditz, Novus and Piccolo remain unclear.

Interestingly enough, the Crimson Oblivion has now become pretty much the most reliable technique in Dragon Ball AF canon. A direct hit has killed Chronus, Hyperion, Broly and now Vardock. So far only Goku has been shown to be able to survive it, but it _still _put him out of commission.

Got a new drawing coming up next time. There should actually be three drawings before the last chapter, this next one being the first of them. Not saying who it is yet since it's supposed to go with the next chapter, and you don't want spoilers this close to the end.

See you next time!


	30. Chapter 30 A God's Last Legacy

Chapter 30: A God's Last Legacy

Upon the nameless world Alpha sat. Sleeping in loud snores, the dragon had found himself a lovely shaded spot beneath a palm tree as he waited for his portal to finish. Around him the planet endured; not a speck of energy could be felt across the land, yet it shifted and morphed with time, cautiously fluttering about the dragon.

He laid in a dune of sorts. Waves of dry sand rose up here and there, a hundred feet high before a brief gust of wind would mercilessly cut them down only to reform half a mile along the desert. Off in the distance a mountainous collection of rocks reached their peaks in dramatic spires, and way behind him a mysterious jungle thrived in the heat.

The air here was sparse; even in the open land it was easy to feel suffocated, the heat sucking dry all the moisture in a warrior's throat to make them tire prematurely. Being a bottomless supply of energy meant the battleground was perfect for a creature like Alpha. None could challenge him here. Even at such a crucial time he could nap without having to worry about taking a sidewinder from some lucky fool of a Z-Fighter.

Shuffling slightly, Alpha awoke and gave one haphazard glance over his shoulder. Far away his portal continued to expand, but he could check its progress without getting up.

"Half way done," he mumbled, yawning. "This is getting boring." With no one else to fight Alpha shut his eyes to return to his slumber. Galactic dominion could wait; for now he needed to be patient. Once his only threats – weak as they were – had been eliminated, he could claim the world without any trouble at all.

A wry smile came to his lips as he remembered blowing Vardock away before crippling his son with a Royal Assault to the torso. Vegeta's body had grown on Alpha; he'd be sad to see it go – the saiyan's techniques were a breath of fresh air and he still got a pang of sick satisfaction whenever one of Vegeta's comrades looked at him with that sad expression of nostalgic pity.

With that thought in mind Alpha reached a state of daydreaming – the fragile precipice between being awake and asleep, where the slightest change would make him alert as a startled deer. For that very reason he jolted into consciousness when an explosion rocked the desert.

Sand blasted against his face in a relentless storm, the shock forcing Alpha to jump up onto his feet to survey the cause of destruction. Through the haze of yellow particles he could see little, but the deafening wind screaming from the explosion annoyed him to no end, and the tell-tale mark of a powerful force spurred him into gathering energy.

After a few seconds a silhouette became visible through the storm as it began to simmer. Most troubling of all was the fact that this new power was one he'd never encountered before. Only one thing was certain: its strength. For just one fighter the energy brimming from the sandstorm was incredible. Alpha figured he might even be as powerful as Goku was – but who was it? The dragon scratched his head in confusion, certain he'd destroyed or disabled any beings who could possess such a level of strength. If not Goku, then who?

Even as the desert whirlwind drifted away like a curtain call the fighter's appearance did nothing to jog Alpha's memory. He was saiyan – that much was obvious – but his look didn't match any of the monkeys he'd faced so far.

A shock of silver hair parted at the fighter's crown, falling in straight, silky waves all the way down to his shoulders. Eyes violet as a bishop's gown glowed with an opaque stillness, seeing through everything as they peered towards their target. A Super Saiyan 5 then, Alpha supposed, but the power reading he picked up was far greater than the usual.

White fur like unblemished pearls coated his upper torso, broken only by a jagged golden sequence of patterns racing across his shoulders. Further down his pants took on the same shade of purple as his eyes, but all his physical characteristics gave Alpha nothing; instead it was his weapon that told the dragon everything.

A stainless broadsword gleamed in the desert sun, slung over his shoulder as tiny rays of light bounced from golden filigrees in the crossguard. The saiyan retrieved it then and thrust it into the ground, as though announcing himself to Alpha in an effort to be taken seriously.

"I see. . ." A smile came to the dragon's lips. "Seems I should've destroyed that thing when I had the chance," he reflected.

Still the saiyan's eyes were unmoving and unblinking, his stare like a violet portal to the abyss. Resentment surfaced behind those eyes – although for what, Alpha couldn't say. As far as he was concerned, this new Super Saiyan was someone he'd never met before.

"Soo. . . Remind me which one you are again?" he asked. Going through his mind it made no sense; he'd taken extra care to identify and measure all the saiyans so that he knew his enemies inside and out. This newcomer was a mystery to him – where had he come from? Was there another survivor of Planet Vegeta? After more than half a century? No – the man was far too young to be a survivor.

"You don't know who I am?" the saiyan asked, pulling free the sword to hold it aloft. "Well that figures. _He _would recognise me in an instant."

"_He_?" Alpha narrowed his eyes; did he mean Vegeta?

"I'm the man who's here to kill you."

* * *

Six Hours Ago

A steel door at the far side of Shenron's hall leapt from its hinges as Goku burst into the room. Trunks acknowledged him with a glance before the saiyan noticed the body on the floor. With one hand Goku slapped his forehead as his eyes met his son's. A single look from Goten answered his question before he asked it, and as he turned away shaking he muttered to himself in quiet anger.

"_No_, no , no, not Uub. . ." Trunks heard him mumble. He was only half paying attention; most of his thoughts were fixed on their current situation. He'd remained optimistic until now, always positive about their chances, but after such a crushing defeat there was nothing left to hang onto. No matter how he looked at it things were hopeless. That was it; they were dead.

Goku and his family had the uncanny ability to cling to blind faith, but the cold, logical mind that Trunks inherited meant he couldn't see things that way. Vardock was gone, Uub was gone; Gohan, Pan, Krillin, Tien, Hyperion – they'd all been taken before the real battle even started. Raditz, Novus and Piccolo still hadn't returned, and worst of all was the fact that Alpha had his father captive.

Ever since that day Trunks had been waiting eagerly; when Alpha had addressed the cosmos declaring his intentions. Part of it was the saiyan thrill of battle that his genes craved for, and part of it was the prospect of proving himself as an asset. Mostly though, Trunks wanted more than anything to see his father again. He hadn't seen Vegeta for three years, so when Alpha made his declaration of war he knew there was no way the Prince of all Saiyans would sit idly by and watch.

And now _this_.

Trunks brought up his knees to slump his head upon. Just the thought of that creature wearing his father like a jumpsuit made him sick. That twisted, sadistic expression he made was a parody of Vegeta – behind the eyes of the Eternal Dragon nothing remained of the man Trunks used to admire.

A flash of light pulled the saiyan from his sulking as three fighters materialised. Crashing in a heap upon the floor, Raditz, Novus and Piccolo zapped into existence so suddenly that Goten released a squeal. From a quick look both the Vicis and the namekian seemed uninjured – albeit drained and exhausted. The saiyan however was another story.

Dentures the shape of fists plastered Raditz's body from head to heel. He lay still upon the metal hall, blood from his wounds trickling away from him in chaotic lines as Novus clutched his collar, berating him through what looked like tears.

"_Why did you do that? _You _idiot! _Look what happened to you!" she cried.

Trunks peeked out from behind his knees to get a better look. Was he still breathing? It was hard to tell with Novus heaving him back and forth; he wondered if even she knew his fate.

_Not Raditz too. . ._

"What happened?" Goku asked, determined to make himself useful once again.

"Alpha went for Novus," Piccolo told him. "Pulled out that Royal Assault technique Vegeta used to use. Raditz jumped in the way – took a direct hit."

Goku dropped to the floor in an instant and seized his brother's hand. "Is he alright?" he asked, making no effort to hide his desperation.

"You tell me."

"Right." Without a second thought the saiyan closed his eyes. Novus gave him silence as he placed a palm on Raditz's chest, no doubt sensing for the slightest pulse that could indicate life or death. "He's alive," Goku said at last. "But barely."

"We need to get Dende," said Piccolo.

"I already did."

Right on cue the shorter namekian burst through another door on the far side of the hall. Trunks smiled, remembering just how useful Goku's telepathic abilities could be. He must've called for the guardian the moment they arrived.

With a look of pity and concern Dende worked his magic on the saiyan. Wounds closed and broken bones snapped back into position as a nauseous Raditz came back into consciousness. The moment Dende was done Novus flung her arms around the saiyan in her relief. The sudden movement brought a stabbing pain to the saiyan's chest; he flinched away and clutched his ribs, growling in agony as he tried to suppress a full roar.

Right away Trunks knew what had happened. He'd seen it once before, and as Dende moved over to Goten he suspected the same thing would happen there. Alpha's attacks weren't normal; they lashed out at the very core of a person's being.

Dende could only mend the physical side of the injury – the rest would have to heal on its own. That same technique had brought Goku to his knees just a few hours ago, and now it seemed more fighters were out for the count as well. Again Trunks felt himself gripped by hopelessness – their odds got smaller and smaller by the battle.

"Guess I should've seen this coming," hissed Raditz, wincing with every movement as he propped himself against the wall.

"Don't worry about it." Goku released a sigh. "It's tough but you'll get used to it. I can transform to a Super Saiyan 2 already! Dende thinks I'll be ready to fight again before that clock reaches zero."

"_Gah! _Damn it! Think I can as well? I _really _don't wanna sit this one out!" grumbled Goten. After Dende's healing he too suffered from the plague of Alpha's attack, his broken sword-hand the source of it all.

Goku raised his eyebrows and beamed a warm smile; if nothing else he knew exactly how to make people feel better. "Hey, there's every chance," he said. "But hey. . ." He trailed off. Trunks cringed at the sound; he had to realise sooner or later. "Where's Vardock?"

Raditz sat up too, looking left and right for any sign of their fused father. He prayed for a moment that he was still there, unconscious and waiting for their rescue. Once again Goten's expression revealed the truth, sullen and unsubtle.

A crash sounded as Goku's punch ploughed into the nearest steel pillar. Powering up, the Super Saiyan 2 wore a grimace with a shuddering frown to match. When he retrieved his fist blood ran down from his middle knuckle; if he noticed, he didn't care.

"We just keep dropping one after the other – and all he does is get stronger with every fight. We've yet to so much as put a dent in him!"

The saiyan's sentence had barely finished when their conversation came to a halt. A ringing noise filled the hall as the entire complex found itself bathed in a cool sheet of brilliant white light from above. Looking to the ceiling, Trunks shielded his eyes to get a better view.

"Alpha?" he heard Novus say.

Goku was insistent. "It can't be! We've still got eighteen hours!"

Moments later Trunks's eyes were blinded by the shine. The light grew so intense that even with both hands covering his head he could barely see more than ten feet ahead. The Z-Fighters became black outlines, solar silhouettes in his vision, and all the while the noise grew louder and louder – the chime like heaven's purest bell being struck once and left to echo across dimensions.

Piccolo's voice called through the light. "Get ready everyone, whatever this thing is it's powerful!"

Trunks paused; even in Piccolo's condition the namekian could still detect it. Casting out his own senses it was easy to see why. The scale of this thing – whatever it was – was enormous. Power radiated from it on a level that rivalled his own, but there was no consciousness from it; no feeling or emotion or intent that Trunks could pick up on.

Silence fell as the light died, replaced only by a swirling portal clinging to the ceiling. Still he was convinced that Alpha had arrived. Questions murmured around the group, though all seven pairs of eyes remained transfixed on the wormhole. Piccolo charged energy and Novus did the same. Hardly an impressive duo; after facing Alpha their fullest power was a measly shade of its true potential.

In the end their questions were answered as an object tumbled from the depths of the portal. Spinning like a propeller, the blade caught the light with every turn, glowing momentarily before crashing into the hall just three feet from Goku.

Left and right Z-Fighters turned to the object, sensing immediately that the wealth of power came from nothing but the shimmering claymore, its first metre of steel thrust into the floor. Gold and silver ornamented the crossguard, with a diamond the size of a fist bulging from the nexus. Grooves along the blade spoke in a dead language foreign to even the Kais, a tongue only its wielder could now translate.

"Is that. . ." started Goku.

"Hyperion's sword, yeah." Piccolo revealed.

"I wondered where that went." Sitting up, Raditz craned his neck to get a better look. "I saw it spin off into the void when Hyperion kicked the bucket. Lost sight of it in the battle though."

Tentatively Goku reached out a hand to grasp to handle, although Novus it seemed had other ideas.

"_Nobody touch it!_" she shrieked. With a jump of fright the saiyan withdrew his reach to leave the sword untouched, and after her sudden outburst all eyes were on Novus. Still staring in wonder, the Vicis elaborated.

"Hyperion stores most, if not all of his power inside that thing. The fact that he sent it here indicates that he means for us to use it – even in death he's aiding us."

"Let me get this straight," said Dende, confused on the prospect. "_All _of Hyperion's power is in that thing?"

Novus nodded. "Virtually. It's a failsafe in case anyone ever gets a hold of his mind and body. Have you ever seen him fight without it?"

Around the room fighters traded glances and shook their heads in turn. Novus was right; the old god never went anywhere without that sword.

"It's like a conduit for his energy. For thousands of years he's been pouring more and more power into that thing – it's like his infinite reserve of ki." she explained.

"Like my Dragon Balls?" Goku asked, seeking to simplify the matter.

Novus nodded. "Like your Dragon Balls. If I'm right, then the blade will bond with whoever first touches it. Now that Hyperion is gone it needs a new master for the time being; but it's connected to him, so I'm not sure how long the effect will last before it rejects whoever claims it. We need to seize this opportunity at the right moment with the right person." Looking around the room, Novus took her turn to ask a question: "Now then, who among you knows how to use a sword?"

Trunks felt his heart miss a beat as half a dozen fingers pointed his way. Without saying a word the Z-Fighters nominated him with a gesture. The vote was unanimous; not a single warrior disagreed, save of course for Trunks himself.

"No way!" The saiyan held up his hands in protest.

"Trunks. . ." Goten complained.

"I said no! We don't know what that thing is or what it'll do to me! Like I've got enough power to control something like that! It'll tear me apart the moment I touch it!"

"If your intentions are pure Hyperion's sword should have no cause to reject you," said Novus.

_You're not helping_, Trunks thought to himself, too annoyed to say it out loud. Instead he settled for a bewildered stammer, still shaking his head. "I don't – I can't-"

"Trunks you might be our only hope here," managed Raditz.

"Why not Goku?" Deflecting the duty, Trunks pointed to their best fighter. "Surely you'd be better suited for it than me!"

"You kidding?" Piccolo gave a grunt and jerked his thumb in Goku's direction. "He's in no shape to fight. Which is really just the kicker to the fact that he'd be just as likely to cut his own tail off as killing Alpha with it."

"_Hey!_" cried the saiyan. "But yeah he's probably right. This is your territory Trunks. It should be you."

"What about Goten?" The saiyan's desperate look turned to his friend. "He can use a sword!"

"Not half as well as you can buddy. And in case you didn't notice I'm not exactly in tip-top shape here." Goten held up his hand – even that much seemed an effort.

Trunks growled to himself, and with no one else to turn to his eyes found the floor. Everyone else made this decision for him; nothing he said would make any difference, only sound like a more pathetic excuse each time he argued. He'd never even met this 'Hyperion' fellow, only sensed his energy and seen him from a distance, and now he had the gall to bestow all this responsibility. Gohan could use a sword, _and _he was more powerful – Gohan would've been ideal.

_But Gohan isn't here. _. . "I need some time," he grumbled at last.

Just when the saiyans looked about to complain Goten stepped in. Just one look at him and Goten could tell right away what it meant. "Good idea," he said. "You should wait until you've completely recovered your strength before you go out fighting again. Take a few hours and think on it."

"The clock is still ticking," said Piccolo.

"We've got eighteen hours; we can spare a few." As Novus spoke up Trunks breathed a sigh of relief. "We have been thrown a lifeline here," she added. "We can't afford to waste it. Trunks should be at his best before he touches the sword."

As the others reluctantly agreed the saiyan fell silent again. One by one they left the room to attend to other matters, and when Goten left he gave a quick clasp of Trunks's shoulder. "Take it easy pal," he said, eyes brimming with sympathy. It should've been obvious, but it seemed only Goten saw his dilemma.

For a time Trunks stayed sitting on the floor of the great hall. The hours ticked by as his strength slowly returned, and in all that time his eyes never left the sword; he hardly even blinked as he drunk in the sight in all its splendour. He wondered how he'd wield it; after all the sword was made for a much taller man – from handle to tip it came up past his chin, maybe even to his nose. The others wouldn't see this. The problems of a swordsman were no problems of theirs.

Every now and then fighters would come to check up on him, asking how he fared. Even when confident his energy had returned, Trunks merely shook his head and told them he'd be ready soon. Eventually he took to pacing the room; avoiding the sword he was alone with his thoughts, noticing quickly that Uub's body had departed for the afterlife. Only a stain of blood remained where he'd lain.

Soon enough Trunks lost track of time; there might be four hours left or fourteen, and the thought of that made him edgy, being rushed to come up with a decision. No matter how he looked at it the task was impossible.

Eventually the fighters would make an ultimatum. When that time arrived Trunks had no idea what he'd say – that he couldn't? That he just made them wait around for hours for nothing? Whichever way he looked at it, there was no way in hell he could bring himself to pick that thing up.

Energy crept back to his system, but fatigue was impossible to shake off, only ever getting worse and worse. After a while Trunks found himself drifting off into an uneasy sleep, his back pressed against the cold, hard wall of Shenron's manor. _Just an hour or two _he told himself. How long it was he couldn't say, but when he awoke he did so with a jump, finding the harsh stare of Novus as his first sight.

She sat with her legs crossed against the pillar opposite him, studying him with a frown like a cat on the windowsill.

"I won't be long now, I'm nearly at full strength," he mumbled reflexively, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Hm?" Novus tilted her head. She wasn't here to ask how much he'd recovered, that much was apparent.

"Never mind. How much time do we have left?" Trunks asked.

"Twelve hours and ten minutes or so."

_It's been six hours then; at least I haven't wasted too much time._ A wave of relief swept over Trunks as he slumped back. "Thanks," he muttered, unsure of what else to say.

Even after his show of gratitude Novus remained, still staring him down with that feline gaze as she made an attempt to size him up. Awkwardly Trunks looked around the room, and when no one else came to his aid the saiyan felt compelled to ask the only obvious question.

"Was there something else you needed?"

She answered without pause. "I'm trying to figure out why you're hesitating."

Whatever sleepiness Trunks still felt was shaken off in an instant. The direct bluntness of her statement took him by surprise, so personal and intrusive that it was easy to see how she hadn't spent long in mortal culture. She continued regardless.

"When Hyperion's sword was offered to you, you nominated everyone but yourself to take it up – now you're putting off even looking at it. Most fighters here would jump at the chance for another shot at victory, yet you seem to be avoiding it. It can't be fear; you don't strike me as a coward Trunks. I'm just trying to think of what else it could be. . ."

That settled it: she was genuinely clueless. Trunks only wished he could live in such blissful ignorance. "You don't understand much about sentiment do you?" he asked her.

"A little. . ." she confessed. "Am I missing something?"

"Alright then." Sighing, Trunks sat up and broke it down for her as simply as he could. "Let's say this works. Let's say I manage to overpower Alpha by myself. I bring him to his knees, raise the sword – all that's left is the final blow. . . Then what?"

Novus blinked twice, her expression blank – almost the exact same face Goku made when someone said a word longer than ten letters. "I don't follow."

"He's my_ father_." The only thing he could do was spell it out, watching wearily as the gears slowly turned in Novus's mind. Proud that she'd finally found the answer, the Vicis took a few moments to put a hand to her chin and nod her head. Then she remembered the social convention – she was supposed to comfort him.

"Trunks, that man out there-"

"He isn't dad, I know," Trunks grumbled. It was nothing he hadn't told himself a thousand times already. "But it's his body – it still looks like him. One way or another he'll die soon anyway. Why do I have to be the one to do it? Everyone's so obsessed with saving the universe that they forget they're asking me to murder my own father."

"You didn't hesitate about flying into battle earlier," said Novus, remembering their last fight.

"That was as Gotenks – he's only half me."

"Ah. So things are different this time?"

Trunks nodded. "I haven't seen him for three years," he reflected, "and now the first thing I'm going to do when I meet him is take a swing at him? How do you think he'd feel about that? I couldn't ever face him again."

Novus's eyes wandered about the room as she sat up to attention. At last it seemed she understood the difficulty of his task; asking a man to a kill his father was tragic regardless of the situation. If there was any way to avoid this then the other fighters would've taken it without a second thought. But there wasn't – Trunks was the only suitable candidate. Rather than coax him into it, Novus settled for disagreeing with him.

"I don't think that's true," she said at last. "He wouldn't resent you for it. I spent many months with your father in the afterlife. He didn't strike me as the kind of man who'd appreciate being controlled."

"He isn't," offered Trunks. "But me, his own son, being the one to pull the trigger? He definitely _is _the kind to hold a grudge."

"What exactly do you think he'd feel? Anger? Resentment? Pity even?" Novus shook her head; even she knew Vegeta better than that. "Pride is the answer you're looking for. It always confused me that your society ranks pride as a 'deadly sin'. Used in moderation, depending on where you direct it, pride can be a good thing – Hyperion didn't exactly lack it. Vegeta doesn't either – it's the very thing Alpha is using to control him.

Once upon a time your father might've been satisfied only with himself, but you know that isn't the case anymore. He was proud of _you _Trunks. All that time I spent with him. . . Whenever he opened up in the slightest, it was always when someone mentioned you or your mother – give him half a chance and he wouldn't shut up about you."

But Trunks was unconvinced. "My dad really boasted about _me_? I find that hard to believe." When Vegeta spoke of him it was always in criticism – nothing Trunks did was ever quite enough to please him.

Novus merely shrugged. "He said you held your own in the battle against Chronus and my kind, that you were a crucial asset to the war effort. He couldn't wait to get back just to see how much stronger you'd gotten over all this time. . . Do you really want to disappoint him?"

"I. . ." Trunks paused to think. Why would this woman lie to him? It made sense in the end; Vegeta's respect was something gained through power – one had to prove oneself in a fight to get his acknowledgement. In the battle against the Vices Trunks's strength had increased tenfold, transforming twice and even aiding them in the final battle. Vegeta had died there. He was gone from this world before he got the chance to acknowledge Trunks for his actions.

"If that's true then it makes no difference, I can't kill him after you told me that." he realised, horrified that he'd almost made such a poor decision. The saiyan got to his feet and made for the exit. "I'm going to tell the others I can't go through with it," he finished.

Trunks almost reached the door. He strolled right past Hyperion's sparkling blade and laid his hand on the doorknob before Novus called out to him.

"If that won't change your mind then hear this!"

The saiyan stopped in his tracks. Every part of him wished to ignore her and press on through the door; to get this nightmare over with. Only instinct kept him there. Novus was older and wiser than her appearance let on. Whatever she had to say could be important, so reluctantly he let her continue.

"Your assumption – when you said Vegeta would die either way – that's not true."

Trunks turned around, furious she'd kept it from him. "What did you say?"

"Alpha is using the same technique I saw him use on Chronus. When my old master burst out of him, Duodecimus didn't die – his soul never reached the afterlife. His mind remained, trapped forever inside some crevice at the back of Chronus's."

As he considered the implications Trunks wondered why anyone would agree to such a fate. Maybe Duodecimus was tricked into it, or maybe he went willingly; he'd seen the captain's loyalty to his master with his own eyes. Regardless, this was bad news for Vegeta.

"When Alpha breaks free of Vegeta's body – and he soon will – your father won't simply be transported to Otherworld to spend the rest of his days in paradise. He'll stay trapped in Alpha's mind. And even then, if by some miracle we manage to beat him, Vegeta will be dragged down along with him."

Trunks finally clocked on as things were put into perspective. If he acted, his father might be able to spend the rest of his days peacefully training in the afterlife – it wasn't ideal, but it was better than the alternative. If he did nothing, Vegeta as he knew him would cease to exist. He'd become a permanent part of Alpha, destined to either languish in hell or sit in some prison at the back of his head whilst the dragon ruled the galaxy.

"Trunks?"

Shaking himself, the saiyan suddenly realised that he'd been staring into space for the best part of a full minute, processing the information as a thousand emotions bounced around his mind: Anger at Alpha, gratitude at Novus, pity at Vegeta and the usual saiyan excitement at the prospect of a fight up ahead.

Once again his eyes fell to Hyperion's sword, still softly glowing with power from the jewel set into the crossguard. His mind was made in an instant; Trunks only wished he hadn't taken so long making the decision.

Without a word Trunks marched straight at the sword. Novus repeated his name in confusion and panic, but with a clear goal the saiyan was oblivious to her protests. Within five paces the blade began to glow even brighter, reacting to Trunks as though it somehow elected him as its temporary master. No thought but exhilaration coursed through him as his fingers closed around the handle.

Just as before the sword's radiance grew to blinding levels. Half a second later and the room was quilted in a white sheen of energy as the heavenly chime blared back into existence, the coupling making anyone present both blind and deaf in the confusion. Once he found his grip Trunks pulled, freeing the sword from the ground in a single determined jerk.

"_What is it? What's happening?_" With three doors opening at once a crowd of Z-Fighters arrived. Even without the noise or blinding light from the hall they were alerted in a moment by the monstrous energy gushing from it like a fountain.

Once more the light began to dim and the noise began to fade. The power signal was a hybrid – Trunks's mixed with the remnants of Hyperion's they sensed just a few hours ago; he must've finally recovered and taken up the sword. When the shine finally subsided then, none of them expected a foreign six foot figure stood at its epicentre.

The change in Trunks was startling at a glance. Not only had the saiyan ascended to the fifth level, but his entire physiology looked to have been altered by the transformation. Silver, straight hair was only the beginning; at a closer look Trunks had grown a whole ten inches in height too, presumably so he could wield that gigantic sword of Hyperion's.

"_Hooooly crap!_" A tense atmosphere didn't last long with Goten around. Even when injured the saiyan never managed to disappoint. "So _COOL!_" he proclaimed. "That still you Trunks?"

"Yeah. . . Yeah, it's still me," Trunks replied, unsure himself for a moment. Catching a look of his reflection in the polished columns of Shenron's hall made him see Goten's point right away. He barely recognised himself, with those stark purple eyes that could bore into a man's very soul. Looking around the others seemed to shrink. He wondered whether Goku had always been so short.

"Novus, can you take me to him?" Trunks asked, focusing again.

Without a sound the Vicis nodded. Judging from her face even she didn't expect such a drastic change.

As usual Piccolo was the first to volunteer, "I'll go with you," he offered, although the saiyan had other ideas.

Shaking his head, Trunks replied, "No. I'm sorry, but I have to face him alone. I'll send Novus back once I'm there, and if it looks like I'm in trouble you can come in to back me up."

"That's a stupid move and you know it Trunks." Blunt as ever; the namekian didn't mince words.

"Maybe so," decided Trunks. "But I want it this way. I have to speak to him alone."

"You can't expect us to just sit here an-"

"That's enough Piccolo." To the saiyan's surprise it was Goku who jumped to his defence. Better than any their fearless leader seemed to understand his intentions – he had to face his father one last time. One way or another, when all this was over he would have no regrets. "Let this one go," Goku added.

Piccolo grumbled something unintelligible and nodded reluctantly. Save for Trunks, he and Novus were the only two fighters with strength enough to fight. Not using them then seemed like a waste, but the saiyan's mind was set.

"Novus, can you get me there?"

Nodding, the Vicis walked over to place a hand on his shoulder. Trunks gave a final look around the room to the fighters gathered; this could be the last time he ever saw them again, so he made sure to burn their faces into his memory.

When his eyes met Goten's the young saiyan smiled, showing a quick thumbs-up as encouragement. For a moment Trunks wished to see his mother one more time; then he remembered he'd be more likely to scare her witless in his current form.

"Are you ready?" said Novus beside him.

Trunks thought long and hard, steeling himself for the nightmarish sight of Alpha Vegeta. He couldn't turn back now; better to get it over with sooner rather than later. "Do it."

* * *

"You don't know who I am?" the saiyan asked, pulling free the sword to hold it aloft. "Well that figures. _He _would recognise me in an instant."

"_He_?" Alpha narrowed his eyes; did he mean Vegeta?

"I'm the man who's here to kill you."

Alpha laughed to himself as he pondered away, staring back at his enemy with a confused glower. Eventually he clapped his hands together, his face lighting up as though he'd just solved a tricky riddle. "Trunks!" he realised with a start. "So good to see you!"

"Suppose I'd be lying if I said the feeling was mutual," said Trunks.

"I've heard much about you from your father," Alpha went on.

"You're lying." Trunks saw through it. "My dad wouldn't give the time of day to someone like you, much less strike up a conversation."

"You know that do you?" Alpha's eyes flashed as a grin found his lips. "For all you know Vegeta and I have become firm friends – he's been in here a long, _long_ while."

Trunks shook his head – he wouldn't be fooled by such a ruse. It was all mind games with Alpha; the battle started in wits long before the first punch was thrown. Fortunately he had something to counter with. "Prove it then." He pointed the sword. "Bring Vegeta out here – let me speak to him by myself, just us."

With a sigh Alpha threw up his arms. "I'm afraid to say it doesn't work that way Trunks. I couldn't bring him out even if I wanted to."

"I still think you're lying." As he spoke Trunks continued scoping out the immense power his enemy wielded. Each nebula of energy seeping from the Dragon Balls was a world-crushing evil kept in check by a small golden sphere, and Alpha's power was enormous by itself – cast like a shadow over Vegeta's. As his eyes darted about Trunks carried on talking; if Alpha saw he was distracted he would attack.

"I think you _can _bring my father out here, but you won't," he said, "because you know that the moment you put him back in control, that body is as good as gone. He'll never let you have it back."

"An interesting theory. . . But he's not coming out, so there's no point even speculating is there? What intrigues me most is that sword. You think you can do what its original master couldn't? Some might call that arrogance; surely you can't think you've grown more powerful than a god?"

In truth Trunks had no idea how strong he'd gotten – how his energy compared when stood next to Hyperion's. There was only one way to find out, and he wouldn't see it standing around talking all day.

"The conceit of you saiyans never fails to astound me." Putting his hands behind his back, the Shadow Dragon mused to himself as he wandered back and forth. Trunks watched eagerly, for the moment his back was turned the sword would be upon him. "You came here alone – to face _me_, armed only with a borrowed relic and some childish desire to save your daddy. And yet I always thought you were the logical one Trunks – surely _you _must've thought this through. You'd come face to face with me and what then? Cut me down and go home to live happily-"

_Now_.

A flash of power brightened the desert as Trunks surged forward in a blaze of ki. He lifted the sword screaming and brought it down in focus, flaming through the sand.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: I really envy whoever is still reading this; again I'm so sorry this is as late as it is. I moved house a month or two ago so that threw a spanner in the works, right at a time where writing and university work piles on my desk like a steroid-pumped avalanche.

I actually sent some of you guys a message around Christmas to say I'd be back, and then something else happened! The place I work was burned to the ground – a humble little 'Spar' shop that never offended anyone. So yeah, I just got made redundant by some dickhead with a fuel can and a lighter. Back to job-hunting in a recession =( Yaaay.

Anyway, I know some readers might feel a bit disappointed by this chapter this you guys waited so long and not much happened. It's easy to dismiss this fight since everyone kinda knows that Trunks is never going to be the one to beat the final villain, but this part is _vital _I can assure you. This form of Trunks plays a deciding part for the last act of the story. I figured he really needed a better role since (along with Goku) he's the fighter with the closest connection to Vegeta.

Gonna post the follow-up soon. I've got last-year exams until the 16th of Jan so it won't be before then. I already started writing the chapter though – shouldn't take more than a few days after that, fingers crossed.


	31. Chapter 31 Alpha's First Mistake

Chapter 31: Alpha's First Mistake

Dust and power fled the scene as the screaming blade of Hyperion seared the air like a space-tearing scissor. Trunks lashed out with both hands; an overhead swing designed to cleave the dragon in two. Instead Alpha swayed aside like a leaf in the wind, but Trunks had already anticipated that.

Without pause for thought the saiyan leapt into action, determined to stay on the attack. He hacked left towards his foe, and when Alpha dodged again he brought up the sword vertically to force another hasty retreat. _Got him. _From the face of his palm a hundred energy blasts exploded into existence, triple-burst shots that swarmed Alpha like a hive of hostile bees, detonating around him with each a painful sting.

Through explosions of marble flame and jet smoke Alpha darted from the ashes. He came face to face with Trunks, ready already to begin his onslaught of bladed vengeance. Attack after attack the saiyan lifted the god's sword as fast as his muscles would allow.

A flourish of silver and gold left his strokes where the edge cut the air as the sheer speed of his thrusts left images left and right in a fitting mirage. At any given time it seemed as though five swords were in motion, and with enough to contend with it was all Alpha could do to keep up.

Eventually the dragon found his second wind. His arm shot up in defence, writhing with ki to blunt the naked edge of Hyperion's sword. Sparks scattered as the blade rebounded with a clang. In the wake of his victory Alpha slammed a right rook Trunks's way.

He'd forgotten how hard Vegeta's punches truly were; after three years being unable to spar with him the sensation had all but escaped him. It came back again now – that familiar feeling – as though Alpha's attack carried with it the memories of his childhood. Chin-first Trunks skidded through sand and gravel across the desert.

It took thrusting Hyperion's sword into the ground to finally slow him to a halt. Trunks got to his feet coughing dry dust as his throat gasped for moisture, but already Alpha was on him. A nostalgic shine glimmering at the corner of his eye warned Trunks of the attack. Turning he saw his father's palms pressed together, forming symmetrical cups.

"_Final! Flash!_"

As the blast lurched from Alpha's hands Trunks knew time was short. He could evade and no doubt run straight into Alpha's next move, but instead another idea sprung to mind. Swifter than ever before Trunks traced a perfect circle before him with the sword. Hallowed light trailed from its tip as the Final Flash shined right in his face.

"_Echo Force!_"

Translucent energy formed a sphere about Trunks, a safe cocoon that not only shielded him from the attack; it reflected it back at Alpha. Its speed doubled as Vegeta's own attack turned upon the monster possessing him. It felt like justice to Trunks.

The explosion quaked the ground at the saiyan's feet. Looking on, Trunks watched the blast consume Alpha with a grin, knowing that even the last Shadow Dragon would feel the bite in that one.

The smoke cleared once again to find Alpha's face one of irritation. Cuts and blisters where the fire licked at Vegeta's face began to heal in an instant as his ashen, soot-blackened face cleared, leaving only a ruffled hairstyle as a mark that he'd ever been hurt.

The scarlet eyes of the dragon scanned the desert. Now that his nerve was broken Alpha seemed determined as ever to finish the fight, but to his dismay Trunks was nowhere to be seen; no one around to take his frustrations out on.

"_SKY! . ._"

A shout and a flicker of ki behind him spurred Alpha into action. Snarling the dragon twisted around, fists flaming blue and white with ki as he prepared to tenderise Trunks with the strikes of the Royal Assault. The saiyan stood with his sword held high; within arm's reach and exposing his front like an idiot. With a wicked grin Alpha began the attack.

A failed attack.

Vegeta's fist, swathed in power and hungry for a victim, passed straight through the visage of his son. As Alpha recoiled, horrified, he knew he'd been bested by an afterimage; the moment he lost sight of Trunks in the explosion the saiyan had put his next move into action. Alpha looked about to find his prey, only half-aware of the Trunks-shaped shadow growing at his feet.

"_REND!_"

Alpha's backstep was a fraction too late. Any earlier and the attack would've missed him completely; any later and he'd be hacked in two from shoulder to hipbone. Instead the Sky Rend struck him dead on, a fantastic pillar of sharp golden energy that left a scar in the air where it sliced a crescent in the sky itself.

As the ground parted around him Alpha barely even noticed it. Trunks's attack shook the nameless world from pole to pole, his slash leaving a great V-shaped ravine in the desert as he carved into the planet's crust as though it were butter. Sand from both sides formed an avalanche into the dark abyss, and steam rose up from the void, the sand bubbling in the hot pits of the planet's core – Trunks had cut that far.

But Alpha paid it no mind. As he floated to a hover above the gorge his eyes were fixed to the bleeding wound the sword had seared into his chest, still glowing golden from the aftereffects of the attack.

And then he screamed.

To Trunks it was a horrible, piercing sound; like nails on a blackboard – an unnatural sound akin to the screech of a lost banshee. With his unbridled scream the planet rocked again, and Trunks found himself using the sword as an anchor to stay on both feet. Around him the ground began to crack like lightning painted over sand. Eventually he set off in flight, just in time to avoid the earth parting at his feet.

As Alpha's laboured cry echoed about the planet Trunks knew the attack had hurt him, more so than any move he'd seen so far. Blood spurted in dramatic angles from his chest and flowed like a leaky tap all over his hands, staining Vegeta's pearly white gloves.

His scream subsided, but even as he calmed Alpha still breathed in ragged, furious rasps. As the glow from the attack died down the dragon began to tense his chest in an effort to close the wound. No such thing happened. Instead Alpha was left with an ugly, inch-wide scar, running diagonally from Vegeta's left shoulder to end just below his navel. No matter what he tried the dragon's regenerative abilities failed him.

"I figured that might work," said Trunks at last, gliding down to find himself level with the man. "You eliminated Hyperion first; you were scared of him, and rightly so. Your negative energy doesn't agree with my friends – their wounds won't heal properly. And this sword uses pure positive energy, doesn't it?" Trunks held it up and admired it. When his eyes met Alpha's the saiyan saw he had the truth of it – he'd found the dragon's weakness. "Using something like this on something so foul as you. . . It's not something you can recover from."

"This is still your father's body!" snapped Alpha, still brimming with rage. "And you've forever blemished it! How do you think he'd feel Trunks? Knowing what you did to him!"

Trunks let his gaze wander, his thoughts drifting back to his conversation with Novus. "Honestly?" he said, smiling faintly. "Proud."

* * *

Piccolo sat twiddling his thumbs. Trunks's play was admirable but stupid; any fighter with a shred of sense could see it. Around him a few other warriors had gathered, and together they made a motley crew of silence and tension. Raditz sat across from him, powering up occasionally to test the limits of the curse implanted upon him. He'd turn Super Saiyan before cowering back down, the pain of his wounds grounding him for now.

Novus was also present – she urged Raditz not to push himself so much whenever he made the effort to power up. Piccolo knew it was useless. Trying to keep a saiyan from battle was like trying to stop the sun from setting. "Calm yourself – remember what I taught you," he'd tell Raditz every now and again; that at least cooled his nerve.

They sat in a lobby of sorts in Shenron's domain. Scientists, builders and government officials would come and go, reporting to Bulma down the hall in case any new developments arose. As if there would be any; eleven hours remained, that was all the time humanity had left. Their planet was gone forever, and in the next half a day they would join it in Otherworld.

The strangest occurrence happened when Goten made his way through. Lying down, he crossed the room using press-ups, every push propelling him half a step forward as he wormed across the space. Piccolo couldn't help but admire him; it seemed to Goten that if Trunks was trying his hardest then he should too. Even if it meant nothing, he would share the pain of his greatest friend until one of them gave in.

Goku made an appearance too. Wandering through as a Super Saiyan 3 the man made sure they were each prepared. At the time Raditz was sound asleep in the corner, his stomach bulging after Novus spoon-fed him a banquet for twenty. At Goku's command the Vicis nodded and gave a flare of ki to show her vigour, but to Piccolo the saiyan took him to one side.

Once they had privacy Goku spoke freely.

"I just spoke to Bulma," he revealed, taking a long pause before adding, "she wasn't exactly thrilled."

"Her husband is dead and her son just made himself a martyr. Who can blame her?" asked Piccolo.

Goku shook his head and turned away. "I had to let him go. If he was still a child it would've been easier – we made decisions for them. . . But he's a man now – we've gotta respect his decisions. Tell me honestly Piccolo; would you have done any different?"

To that Piccolo had no answer. He'd been so wrapped up in the practicalities of their efforts that he made no room for empathy. Back in hell he could've enlisted help; he could've summoned down Raditz or Vegeta to help him fight against the Demon King Piccolo, but instead he chose to go alone, to confront his father one last time.

Left with his thoughts the namekian took to meditating. Even when Goten did his silly frog-jump back through the room he paid it no mind. The only thing to do now was to wait, and that alone only served to frustrate him. He could see it in everyone; they sat glum-faced and anxious as they hung around waiting for the inevitable bad news.

After another hour was up the group found themselves saddled with another visitor, this one far from expected.

With a flash that startled even Piccolo, Kibito-Kai materialised from thin air at the centre of room. Powers flared and fists were raised before they realised it was him, and from the look on his face he was scared for a moment they might blow him away.

"I really need to stop doing that," he reflected.

The namekian lowered his hands. "Supreme Kai?"

Raditz breathed a sigh and Novus tilted her head; never before had she seen the odd-looking overseer, though the sudden calm of the other fighters forced her to follow by example.

"Where the hell have you been?" Raditz asked.

"I've been busy lately – had some things to take care of. No time to explain."

"Really?" Piccolo glanced through the next room, to the ominous clock counting down to their complete annihilation. "I'd say you've got about nine hours, fifty eight minutes and thirty three seconds."

Kibito-Kai shook his head. "That would be true if I didn't have other matters to attend to. If you aren't busy with anything else, I could use some help saving the universe."

"First things first," said Piccolo, "how's Trunks doing? Surely _you_ know what's happening over there."

"Trunks is holding his own. But for how much longer, I can't say. If things go according to plan though he won't need any help." revealed the Kai. With King Vegeta gone no Z-Fighter had an aptitude great enough to sense across dimensions; they'd been completely in the dark about the battle until now.

Novus rose to her feet and addressed the namekian. "We need to be ready to step in."

"No, I need you for something important. When the time is right we will summon Gohan back to this world, but only for a few minutes – I'm trying to synchronise it perfectly so I can send him back right on cue. Since I'll be doing that, I need someone else who can use the Instant Transmission, so you can quickly pick him up and warp him over to where the fighting is. We can only beam him towards a galaxy, beyond that we've no real accuracy."

"Gohan's coming back?" Raditz leapt to his feet.

Novus nodded her head and pondered away, assessing the situation. Piccolo saw her expression go through the motions as she considered whether or not to comply with the lesser god's plan. Eventually she spoke up.

"How strong is Gohan?" she asked.

The saiyan beside her gave a hollow laugh – there were so many she'd yet to meet. "As strong as they get," he assured her. "If there's even a chance we can involve him in all this our odds get a whole lot better."

A few moments' pause followed, but after seeing Raditz's point Novus agreed. He was Goku's son after all – he must've been strong enough to make a difference. "I'll do it."

"Good!" Kibito-Kai's eyes lit up. "Now, I need another volunteer."

Piccolo couldn't help but smirk; this was the chance he'd been waiting for. Goku, Goten and Raditz were all injured – he was the only applicant left. _Finally, I get to do something useful instead of sitting around all day._ A low grunt got him the attention of the Supreme Kai.

"Excellent!"

"Tell me what it is first. I'm not agreeing to anything before I know the details," he said. "Trunks is still fighting. If I go then he's got no backup if things go south. Whatever you're planning had best be worth it."

"Right." As he delved into an explanation Kibito-Kai began to pace the room, knowing his account might take a while. "Well, as some of you may know, it was I who gave Vardock and Gotenks the fusion rings they used to fight the Shadow Dragons."

Piccolo nodded along in understanding, but Raditz perked up:

"Yeah but both were destroyed. One pair got completely incinerated and a ring from the other pair got crushed along with Goten's hand. I thought one ring was useless without the other to match it."

"They are," confirmed the Kai. "But there is a third pair. From it, I have only the one ring." From his pocket the overseer suddenly pulled out a fusion ring. Polished and stainless, the gold ring shone under the low light of the hall. An orange amethyst sitting atop it twinkled like wildfire.

"Fusion didn't work before. Why would it now?" Piccolo had a point; both Gotenks and Vardock had been beaten at the hands of Alpha. What good would having another pair of rings be if the fused fighter simply lost again?

"Because if all goes according to plan then we'll be able to use them to create the most powerful force this universe has ever known," Kibito Kai went on. "It's too early to say any more than that – I don't want to get anyone's hopes up when so much is still unclear."

Piccolo huffed in dissension – these gods and their riddles. He dismissed it grumbling. "Whatever you say," he muttered. "So where's the other ring?"

"It's in deep space."

"Then why do you need one of us? Can't you go get it yourself? You can survive in the void right?"

At this Kibito-Kai looked embarrassed. He shuffled his feet and looked at the floor as his cheeks flushed a deep shade of red. "I can, but well. . . You see. . . The gravity out there is pretty extreme. . . I can barely stand up there, let alone fly about. I'll be dead before I get within a world's distance."

"Say no more, I'll get your ring," said Piccolo, finally tired of seeing him humiliate himself. "But this had better work. And promise me we'll be back here before that timer runs out."

"I can't promise anything – I don't know how intense the gravity gets or how far you'll need to go into farspace. . . But based on the others I collected, you should be back in time. I can drop you off at the outskirts and pick you up just as easily."

"Good enough for me," Piccolo figured – there were no guarantees in this business anyway. "I'll get a gravity device from Bulma, then we'll head out right away." Making for the door the namekian headed towards Bulma's headquarters, stopping halfway through the aisle when Novus called out.

"Piccolo!"

He stopped to turn.

"This might well be the last time we see one another. Good luck on your mission," she said.

"Yeah, you too Novus," he offered. "And Raditz, if you're still in that pathetic state by the time I get back I'll beat you back into shape myself, you hear?"

Laughing, Raditz brought up his hand to give a salute. "Yes sir!"

* * *

Atop the misty slopes of a glacial mountain range the battle came to a halt. Both Trunks and Alpha paused, heaving in great breaths to try and gain back what little air remained in their lungs. Beside Trunks a great hole had been eaten out of the mountain where Alpha's blast sent it to ruin, and behind Alpha another V-shaped tear in the earth was made where Hyperion's sword bit through the ice.

In the chill wind columns of steam rose from each tiresome breath. Beneath him Trunks felt his balance slipping, the precarious tilt threatening to rob him of his much-needed footwork. Once the battle started again he decided he'd make for the skies; swordplay was no good without a firm step – Alpha had the advantage here.

"Alright! You've got me! This is taking longer than I expected, I'll grant you that," Alpha called over, steadying himself on the opposite slope.

"You made a mistake underestimating me," Trunks affirmed.

"Nope, not you." Alpha shook his head. "I'll admit, maybe I underestimated the power – the _anger_ that a cheated son can have. _And _I underestimated the consequences of letting that sword get away."

The saiyan stood and listened. Most distracting of all was the ugly, inch-wide scar he'd drawn across Vegeta's chest; if nothing else he felt guilty every time his eyes glanced it, running between the Dragon Balls like a fault line. But now wasn't the time for remorse – he had to think up a new plan whilst Alpha prolonged his monologue.

"Trunks you've been a worthy foe. I'll commend you for lasting this long against me. . . But you're fighting a losing battle; you know that. Whereas I can keep this up all day, I'd say you've maybe. . . Another few minutes? Despite all that energy you're still saiyan after all – you can't fight exhaustion."

An angry snarl was Trunks's only response. Even now his fingers grew numb and his muscles tired from swinging the sword. With Hyperion's limitless supply of power he could channel as much ki as he needed, but it was little good without the focus and vigilance of a well-rested mind and body. If he didn't finish this soon his movements would slow; his even footing with Alpha would be lost, and when that happened his death was only a matter of time.

"You listen to me," Trunks started, "I'm taking Vegeta, and your life – even if it kills me. So why don't we skip the smalltalk and get back down to business? Unless you plan to talk me to death, that is. I can only listen to your droning for so long."

That at least spurred Alpha into action. With a rueful laugh and a venomous grin he brought both hands back into a fighting stance. Power green and cyan and black oozed from the ground at his feet, swirling about him like a hurricane as he prepared to set off.

Trunks intercepted him mid-flight, and in the chasm of twin glacial peaks the two battled with every ounce of strength. Swinging wildly the saiyan loosed a trio of glowing swipes from Hyperion's blade, each deftly avoided before a Royal Assault slammed into his chin. Vegeta's uppercut sent him skyward.

A thousand tactics coursed through Trunks's mind as he hurtled through mist and then cloud. He cursed to himself; like an amateur he'd forgotten to keep his mouth closed during their clash. When Alpha's fist flaming white and blue slammed beneath his chin Trunks had bitten down hard on his tongue, and now a trail of red streaming from his lower lip made him easy to follow into the sky.

"_Echo Force!_"

Once again his trademark barrier flared up just in time, for a firework display from below zigzagged up to meet him. One of Vegeta's favourite moves; he'd pump round after round of globe-sized energy attacks, ending up with a small fleet of yellow spheres that went off with a bang one after the other. Thousands of them pelted like rain against the clear shield of the Echo Force, and each time they were sent back down to the surface – back towards their master.

But Alpha had already moved. The moment Trunks lowered his blockade the gloves of Vegeta crashed into his face. For an instant he feared his jaw might be dislocated, but as Alpha closed in for another round he knew now wasn't the time to deal with it.

Rising higher and higher with each attack the two swapped blows like trading cards. Another round of savage right hooks found Trunks's abdomen, but when he decided to take bombing runs a number of the saiyan's kicks landed clean across Alpha's eternally smug expression.

In his desperation Trunks's slashes grew quicker and more accurate; four times in a row Alpha narrowly escaped being cleaved in half, getting away with a few nicks where the razor-sharp tip grazed his skin.

Eventually the two of them rose so high that they left the planet's atmosphere. Trunks felt sick as his body was reduced to a fraction of its normal weight. The energy from Hyperion's sword seemed to sustain him out here. Nevertheless, the sudden change caught him off guard, whereas Alpha on the other hand was anticipating it.

The dragon seized Trunks's momentary distraction quite literally. With a grip that could crush steel Vegeta's hand closed around the neck of his son and flew with him faster than the speed of light through the endless void.

Trunks flapped and flailed under the hold. With the enormous reach of the sword Alpha was too close to take a swing at, and as the dragon's clutch tightened around his windpipe Trunks felt his strength sapped each time he made a move.

Only as it slowly got hotter and hotter did Trunks finally suspect where Alpha was dragging him. Those suspicions were then confirmed when he saw a cool blue glow play over his father's features. Alpha was trying to throw him into the sun; that giant azure behemoth they'd passed on the way here.

Once that happened it was over, Trunks knew. Determined not to let it end, the saiyan charged ki to his left palm. Before long a searing heat was cast across his back, so intense that Trunks feared his fur might ignite before he freed himself. Eventually though his attack was done; Trunks shoved his energy-clad palm into Alpha's face.

A slight lax in his enemy's grip was all Trunks needed. As he hissed in pain the saiyan wrangled free, kneeing up and into Vegeta's stomach before darting back and swinging the sword. Alpha swayed again to avoid it, and as his back boiled hotter Trunks found himself in a flourish of life-or-death blocks and counterattacks, slowly being pushed back further and further towards the sun.

With Hyperion's sword he slashed a diagonal cut at his father before arcing it over and coming down again. The move was sloppy to Alpha's eyes; it earned him a gut-busting punch to his stomach, but even then Trunks continued his move as the blade curved around. Never once did Alpha suspect his foe was drawing a circle; Trunks's moves were subtle enough that he never even noticed the wispy trail of silver from the edge of the blade. The dragon pulled back an arm, flaming wildly with a fistful of energy – the last attack he'd need to send Trunks flying to his demise.

"_Royal Assualt!_" he called with the punch.

"_Echo Force!"_

A shockwave rocked the void as Alpha was sent soaring away as a pure white cannonball. Trunks grinned and looked at the sword; he'd never tried the Echo Force on a physical attack before – only energy blasts. The result was spectacular: Alpha was sent so far that even Trunks couldn't make him out, the full force of Vegeta's move sent straight back at him.

Finally Trunks had a chance to look behind him. The blue sun, gaseous and enormous, was less than a mile away from him. His energy shielded him from its true heat, but any closer and even that wouldn't save him. If Alpha had succeeded the flesh would be stripped off his bones before he plunged headfirst into the blue – then he'd be incinerated.

With a cautious glance around the void Trunks backed away from the flaming star, flying a safe distance as violet eyes scanned for Alpha. His energy masked, the dragon had hidden in some crevice of space, waiting to pounce if the saiyan let his guard down for an instant.

There were plenty of places to hide, Trunks saw. Another two suns loomed in the shadow of the great planet – one a fiery orange and the other a pallid yellow – and at least a dozen moons orbited it on their own individual axis. He could've even retreated back to the planet itself.

A far-off rumbling gave Alpha's location away, but that was the least of Trunks's problems. Just a few miles across from him the saiyan could clearly see the blue and white colour scheme of Vegeta with all seven golden globes flashing from his chest. Above him was the real danger, for within his hands Alpha had lifted a moon.

He threw it without a word, oblivious to the repercussions such a reckless danger could have to the universe. To him, the moon was simply a rock weighing countless tonnes – the perfect tool to crush a saiyan beneath.

Trunks watched as it span towards him silently, quickened by the lack of resistance the gravity out here had to offer. Its shadow, borne by the orange sun, quilted him as the enormous boulder loomed overhead like some gargantuan creature. At this rate he'd be flattened by it – it would ground him at speed and spin him towards the blue sun he just evaded. Trunks readied the sword.

"_SKY!_" Shining, the sword of Hyperion spewed light in golden, celestial rays across the galaxy, eclipsing the moon for an instant before cutting across it. "_REND!"_

In two perfect halves the moon split like a melon. They fell either side of Trunks, unscathed as one sizzled and melted in the heart of the sun, the other cascading to the unknown reaches of space.

But the moon was only a ruse. Through the golden aftereffects of the saiyan's attack Alpha rushed in for the kill. With Trunks still stuck in an awkward pose Vegeta's glowing fist found its way straight into his gut, a punch so powerful that the impression of his hand protruded from Trunks's back.

Once again Trunks felt his vision fail him. His peripherals went black and his eyesight hazy as he spat out phlegm and blood, only vaguely aware that Alpha had seized his tail. Before he knew it Trunks was falling back to planet's surface. The severity of his wounds hit him in full when his true weight returned to him, and then after a brief flight through wind and clouds he collided with the ground.

The strength to roll over was all he could manage. Tasting blood, Trunks's head swam with a thousand half formed thoughts like a dream that wouldn't let him escape. Instinctively he brought up an arm to support himself; being on all fours was better than flat on his back – it was a start at least. Instead his arm collapsed beneath his weight, and as his cheek smacked the dirt another wave of nausea made him feel sick.

"_CRIMSON!_"

_Have to get away. . . _He told himself. Only Goku had the pleasure of surviving Vegeta's final attack, and even that had left him in no state to fight. Amazingly Trunks's right hand still clasped the hilt of Hyperion's sword; his transformation was intact, but it wouldn't matter if that beam struck him.

"_OBLIVION!_"

Trunks basked in a crimson sheen as he forced himself back to his knees. The attack was coming. Willing his feet to move the saiyan tried a quick escape – anything to warp away from the flight-path of that thing. His legs had turned to jelly; even standing up was too much to ask of them.

In the end Trunks settled for closing his eyes and praying as he brought up the sword. That in itself was ordeal; Hyperion's claymore had turned to lead in his grasp. Heaving it above his shoulders felt like lifting a planet rather than a sword. His only hope was that the blade absorbed enough of the impact to spare his life.

As a flaming ball of destruction the Crimson Oblivion cleared a great chunk of the planet in a single explosion. Ice melted, sand vanished, mountains were levelled and both rocks and trees alike were reduced to ashes as the thousand-mile crater spread like a plague across the world. A mushroom cloud of onyx pollution rose so high that the clouds above turned colour to a sordid black, and the ensuing shockwave made sure that even the fringe of the crater was morphed into a bombsite.

Smoke meandered like a natural mist and the ash fell like snow as Alpha Vegeta touched down. Nothing could live here anymore; Trunks's energy signal had vanished. Lifting a hand to his forehead the dragon surveyed his work with eyebrows raised.

"_Whoosh!_" he cried, "I'm getting better at this!"

He took a seat amidst the ruin – the exact same spot where his slumber had been disturbed hours ago by an overconfident saiyan. Alpha didn't mind the fallout; he put his hands behind his head and shut his eyes to find some sleep, content now that his enemy was dead.

Well – nearly dead.

As the smoke began to clear Alpha winked open an eye to get a better look. The scene was exactly as he expected, with nothing but asphalt and crumbling charcoal for miles in every direction coupled with the scent of burning. In the corner of his eye however the dragon spotted an anomaly.

Trunks remained, flat on his back and covered head to toe in what appeared to be blood. He should've been nothing but dust after the attack, but his body retained its shape all the same. He was dead anyway, Alpha decided, and took to resuming his nap until a splutter woke him two minutes later.

Gasping for breath, the saiyan choked out half a litre of blood in a single wretch. Trunks could scarcely breathe, let alone talk or move an inch from his helpless position. With a grin Alpha got to his feet. Trunks was a rat caught in a trap. There was nothing he could do for anyone anymore; the only thing left for Alpha was rub it in.

"So you're still alive!" he started gleefully.

Another cough of blood and spit formed Trunks's reply.

"Well, I'm not sure if _alive _is really the right word."

Back at his most basic level Trunks was an insect to Alpha. He'd shrunk nearly a whole foot and lost the daring eyes of the Super Saiyan 5; worst of all, the sword of Hyperion lay within arm's reach. If only he had the strength to do that much. The saiyan's only mode of response was to glare at Alpha, not knowing that it only fuelled the dragon's sadism.

He began a slow, sarcastic clap. "Hehh. . . Bravo Trunks. You've managed to kill my boredom if not me – and you even managed to wound me!" Alpha gestured to the scar across Vegeta's chest as he took a seat beside the man, content that he was no longer a threat. "I was hoping to enter that portal in my true form to be perfectly honest, but after _that _attack I might have to put that on hold. . . Ah well, it's not like any of your friends can match me in this body anyway."

With a jolt of fear Alpha noticed Trunks's eyes falling to the sword beside him. The saiyan's fingers twitched meekly – the best he could manage. Still, Alpha thought it safe to err on the side of caution. He kicked the sword away to send it skidding ten feet across the blackened waste.

"Ah-ah-ahh, don't be naughty," he jeered, waggling a finger. "I'm not finished just yet."

"_I'll. . ._" rasped Trunks, his voice a hoarse shade of its usual tone. "_I'll. . ._"

"Yes?" Alpha leaned in closer and put a hand to his ear. As he squatted down he made sure his face was almost nose to nose with Trunks – close enough that the saiyan could see for himself the scarlet dragon's eyes behind the mask of his father. "You'll have to speak up!"

Rather than a reply another cough barked out Trunks, this time splattering Vegeta's face and neck in a speckled pattern of blood. He didn't like that one bit. Rising to his feet, Alpha took a few seconds to smear it off him. He then reared back a leg and delivered a vicious football kick to Trunks's side, too weak to make any move in defence.

Bones cracked upon the surface of Vegeta's boot as the dragon took out his anger. A scream leapt from Trunks, and as his cries rose higher Alpha wheezed in delight.

"_Oh ho! _How many ribs did I shatter with _that one?_" Another kick followed, even more savage than the last. With Trunks's wailing growing deafening in volume Alpha licked his lips and savoured the moment, watching quietly with a childlike smile. Satisfied at last, he turned away and made for the sword.

"Killing you now would be too easy. You'll be dead in a few hours if I just leave you there – you can think on your failure as you die. What bothers me most is this sword. . ."

Dropping to a knee Alpha inspected Hyperion's blade. He didn't dare touch it, Trunks noticed, but the power he sensed from it made it an object of interest for him – the forbidden fruit he could never taste. If he couldn't have it, no one could.

Trunks flinched away from the glare as Alpha put his palms together and began to harness energy. Crimson power spilled from his hands to light up the darkness, and with an evil scowl the dragon poured every ounce of his strength into the blast.

"_CRIMSON! OBLIVION!_"

Trunks prepared for the end; another Crimson Oblivion going off so close would finish him for good. Rather than the dramatic spectacle of his previous attempt though, this time all Alpha got was an anti-climax.

Like a mirror the blade reflected Vegeta's unstoppable column of power. Alpha leapt back in fright as the Crimson Oblivion nearly swallowed him whole, shooting like a firework back up to the sky, eventually dissipating into nothingness. Pouting, the dragon looked cross with himself; he should've seen it coming. Hyperion's sword had more energy than he figured. He could destroy it if he took the time out to hammer on it - blasting it over and over again until its power eventually ran out. He couldn't be bothered with that.

"_Whew!_" he proclaimed. "Guess this thing is tougher than I thought!" After considering his options the dragon merely shrugged. "Oh well. Since it's bonded to you now I'm guessing you're the only one left who can use it. And you're not in any hurry to get up, are you Trunks?"

Alpha waited for an answer. When none came he carried on regardless.

"Shame really. But then I guess it'll vanish eventually. If we just leave it over here. . ." He kicked it further away for better insurance – at twenty metres away the dying Trunks would never reach it. "Then you can still see it can't you? The object of all your power is right here in front of your eyes – just out of reach. Who knows? If you're lucky maybe you'll live long enough to see me wipe out everything you hold dear."

Trunks considered it; he'd rather die. It occurred to him that was why Alpha had spared his life. Here, paralysed and bleeding out, he could only watch as the dragon finished off humanity and all the Z-Fighters. Viewing such a terrible end would wound him deeper than any sword. Killing him would be kinder.

"Stay alive Trunks," Alpha told him then, "for the worst is yet to come."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: And there you have it. Alpha Vegeta looks unstoppable now, Trunks's fate is uncertain and only a few hours remain before his portal opens up. With Goten and Raditz out of commission and Piccolo and Novus off doing important stuff it looks like Goku is left as the last man standing against Alpha.

Just a few things to cover here. Just wanna point out first that Trunks slicing a moon in two really isn't that big a deal. I mean forget Z, Master Roshi destroyed the moon in like the second arc of Dragon Ball. Pretty sure a Super Saiyan 5 Trunks in zero gravity could handle it.

Can I also apologise for last time? I got a few complaints for me pointing out in Chapter 30's notes that Trunks 'obviously wouldn't be the one to beat Alpha'. That was a total blunder on my part; I figured it was kind of apparent because Trunks _never _beats the main villain and you know, there were still twelve hours left on Alpha's death-portal. But at the same time I realise that me saying it outright probably killed the tension in this fight just a bit. I'll remove it so at least you guys reading this in 2020 or whatever (I wish!) didn't get a spoiler, but to all you present readers I'm sorry for ruining it like that.

If you've followed AF this far then make sure you stick around for the grand finale. Really wanna give you guys a great conclusion you've been waiting SO LONG for; everything comes together after this point. I reckon most of you should be more than happy with what I've got in store for the coming chapters. We're gonna end on something like Chapter 37 (give or take a chapter). I know that sounds like a long time for those used to my constant delays but I'm trying now to get back to the good old 'two chapters a month' format, which is why this one came much quicker. If things go smoothly we'll end early to mid-Spring.


	32. Chapter 32 Into the Blue

Chapter 32: Into the Blue

_Knock knock._

"Come in!"

At Bulma's command the blast-door of her headquarters parted to the sight of Goku, still with a puzzled look on his face as he tried to find a handle. As the blue-haired scientist ushered him in the saiyan had to hunch and square his shoulders to fit inside, the close confines of the room hardly accommodating his enormous build.

"Sorry, it's a little cramped in here," she mumbled. With her left hand Bulma stirred a steaming cup of cocoa, and with her right she tapped absently at the countless screens surrounding her tiny little chair. Some measured weather patterns, others temperatures and toxicity levels, and two or three even displayed Alpha's doomsday clock. Six hours left.

Stale cigarette smoke hung in the air to make the saiyan wheeze. Waving it away, Goku made his way to Bulma and propped himself against a console, careful not to hit any buttons. As she turned Goku noticed she'd been crying; makeup ran in streams down her cheeks and her eyes were still bloodshot following the recent news.

"Do you have a minute? If it's not too much trouble," Goku asked.

Bulma nodded. "Is it about Trunks?"

"No," lamented the saiyan. He wished it was. "We still haven't heard anything."

"I see." She turned back to stirring her cocoa.

Eager to change the subject, Goku fished around in his back pocket, finally pulling out something he made weeks ago.

It was an envelope, brown and unassuming – easy to mistake for an electricity bill or something just as insignificant. It was labelled to no one; Goku didn't do writing, but as he handed it to her Bulma figured she was the recipient.

"I actually came here to give you this," he said.

Bulma turned it over twice to check for hidden meaning. When she found nothing the scientist took her nails to the fold, tearing off only the corner before Goku interrupted.

"Don't open it just yet – you have to keep it hidden until this is all over."

"What is it?" That got her attention. Bulma eyed the thing like a prehistoric relic. Being told she couldn't open it only made her more eager to do so.

"It's humanity's future," said Goku simply. "You're the only one who can make it work."

A smile finally came out of Bulma. "Well, as honoured as I am, why don't you keep it? Surely it's still safer in your pocket than any vault of mine?"

Goku sighed and crouched down to make himself level with her. This wouldn't be easy to hear; he had to make sure she heard reason. "Well, in six hours I'm flying out there to fight Alpha one last time. If we win, then what's in that envelope should secure humanity's safety for a while. But even if we _do _manage to beat him there's no guarantee that I'll still be here at the end of it. No good keeping it in my pocket if I end up dying anyway."

"Don't talk like that Goku."

"It's just a precaution! No harm in being prepared, right? I've died before."

Goku watched her face as she slowly came to an understanding. He was right, she saw, but something still seemed amiss to her. Goku never made plans like this; he was always so confident that they could win and return to normalcy if they just gave it everything they had.

"Alright then I'll keep it," she accepted, adding, "but just for safe keeping alright? You can open it yourself once the battle is over."

"Deal." The saiyan grinned. Goku turned to leave the room when he remembered something. "Oh yeah," he said, gesturing to the giant watch sat atop his wrist. "Can I get another one of these?"

Pulling open a drawer by her knee, Bulma rummaged around for another device. "Something wrong with yours?" she asked, tossing one to him.

"Nope." Goku shoved it in his pocket. "Never hurts to have a spare though. Thanks!"

Again the man made for the door, his tail swishing calmly like he'd said nothing wrong. He was transparent as glass; Bulma could see in a heartbeat the real reason he needed a gravity suppressor.

"Wait," she ordered. Goku froze in place as her voice reached a warning tone – even to him Bulma was scary when mad. He turned back with a smile as guiltless and childlike as he could make it.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Don't act all innocent with me Goku. It's for Vegeta, isn't it?"

The saiyan's jaw dropped, his eyes going wide with bewilderment as he wondered how on earth she'd managed to figure it out.

"So you still plan on saving him? I thought you'd given that up by now?" she added.

Eventually Goku shrugged and gave up the lie; even if she knew it didn't make a difference. "I'll do whatever I can to bring him back to you – Trunks too."

There it was again. Bulma arched an eyebrow as the saiyan spoke out of character: _'I'll do whatever I can'?_ That didn't sound at all like Goku. Did even he doubt the limits of his strength? More and more lately it seemed the saiyan was putting on a brave face for the benefit of others.

In the end Bulma decided not to call him out on it. Leaving Goku on bad terms wouldn't change a thing. He was about to face the biggest challenge of his life, and she had no wish to make it harder. His sentiment was comforting at least; even if he didn't believe in himself, after fifty years of watching him topple evil everyone else did. If he couldn't beat Alpha no one could.

Bulma smiled for encouragement. "Thanks Goku. I'll get Chi-Chi to start cooking for when you guys get back."

"No need, I'll tell her myself. See you later Bulma!"

As the bluenette waved him out Goku ducked under the archway and stood back up to full height. Being hunched for so long made his shoulders stiff and his back ached from his awkward sitting. He hopped on the spot and windmilled his arms to limber up, and then after checking for any civilians he flared out his power to its fullest.

Red fur of the Super Saiyan 4 covered his torso as his hair took on a new style. His energy stopped at the transformation's pinnacle as a stab of pain from his invisible wound halted the acceleration of energy. Even those didn't hurt too much anymore. Alpha's curse was fading fast.

_Six hours to go. I'll be back at my best by the time that thing reaches zero, _he thought to himself. Six hours was a long time though; what to do in the meantime? After standing in the hallway looking puzzled for a few long minutes Goku finally decided to make good on his promise and find Chi-Chi.

Her energy signal was easy enough to pick out. Using it as a waypoint Goku navigated the endless labyrinth of corridors and walkways Shenron's domain had to offer.

Uncertainty clouded the minds of the earthlings he passed. Since being transported here all families had been allocated to their own rooms, with Bulma and countless volunteers from government agencies making sure everyone was fed and accounted for.

It was the barest of survival requirements. In actuality no one but Bulma and the Z-Fighters knew why they'd been sent here or how long their stay would be. Rumours quickly spread of another intergalactic threat, passed between the small communities, but with no contact to the outside world there was no way for anyone to be sure.

So when the giant, ageless man with the spiky black hair who repeatedly flew and turned blonde at the World Martial Arts Tournament strolled through the halls he was badgered at every turn. Families flocked to him in groups and reporters gathered like vultures. He would smile and apologise to them all, claiming to know nothing. Bulma had warned him about the consequences if he let something slip; they couldn't afford chaos at such a critical stage.

Eventually the saiyan managed to elude them with Instant Transmission, warping himself to the nearest familiar energy signal he could sense. As fate would have it, the signal turned out to be his brother.

Raditz shifted uncomfortably in his chair, trying his best to pretend he hadn't just been asleep. His hair was still wet from a recent shower, drooping in two frizzy bangs either side of his head like the shaggy ears of a cocker spaniel. He righted it with a burst of power as he found Super Saiyan 2 available to him.

"That Alpha sure packs a wallop huh?" he mused. "You recovered yet?"

Goku shook his head and pulled up a seat. "Should be in a few more hours. I'll have to wait until Alpha's portal is done before I fight him though."

"How come? Thought you could cross dimensions?" Raditz asked.

"It doesn't work like you'd expect – I can't just zap myself anywhere. If I cross back into our realm now I'll just end up where I left it."

Raditz thought for a moment – back to when he, Goku and Hyperion fought Alpha Vegeta for the first time just yesterday. "Way out in farspace," he remembered.

"Yup," said Goku. "Weeks away from Alpha's planet, even flying my fastest. The only thing I can do is wait until that timer ticks down, then jump through the portal before Alpha gets here."

"That's a risky move," said Raditz.

"It's the only one we have." Uub was dead and Novus had been taken away by Kibito-Kai. Without both of them gone there was no Z-Fighter capable of warping him back to Alpha's planet.

Sighing, Raditz decided to change the subject. Their only course of action sounded like suicide – hardly a topic worth dwelling on. Luckily there was something else he wanted to bring to Goku's attention, a curiosity from yesterday that he couldn't shake.

"You know I've been thinking," he began. "About what Hyperion said. He said 'your words won't reach Vegeta, but that doesn't mean he can't be saved'. I can't get it out of my head – I asked Novus and she knew nothing about it. You think the old guy knew a way to free him?"

Goku shrugged. "Maybe. But that means whatever plan he had died with him."

"Shame," decided Raditz, shuffling his feet. "We could really use Vegeta's help right now."

"There might still be a way to save him."

"You believe that?"

A fierce stare formed Goku's reply, telling his brother through eyes alone not to underestimate the Prince of Saiyans. Again Raditz gave a heavy exhale as he rocked back on his chair.

"Yesterday I would've been with you," he said. "But I've fought him twice now – Alpha has him taken over. When I was near death after my battle with Frieza there was enough Vegeta left in there to make sure I was spared, but lately? He killed Hyperion and Uub without a second thought Goku; Vardock as well. He killed our father – his own too – without batting an eyelid. Vegeta's gone. Hell, the man we know might be dead already."

"He's alive," Goku asserted. The saiyan rose to his feet and pulled his hands into fists. It was a feeling he couldn't explain; he _knew _in his bones that Vegeta was still there somewhere.

"Even if that's true it doesn't change the fact that we can't get to him, and from the sound of things it seems like Alpha is getting bored with his new toy. Novus says he'll transform soon. I hate to say it Goku, but once you fly out there, odds are the only thing you'll see is Vegeta's final moments in this world."

But still the saiyan shook his head. "I won't accept that. Vegeta and I lived, ate, argued, trained and battled together – after all that, he isn't dying alone."

Then at last Raditz understood. There were only two ways out of this for Goku now: total victory or total defeat. He'd lost too much this time to settle for a half-triumph. Painfully aware that he might only delay humanity's extinction by another hour or so, Goku was preparing himself for the most important fight of his life.

"I don't know if I can win or even how long I can hold him off. We just have to hope Kibito-Kai's plan, whatever it is, works out. Whilst I'm gone you have to recover your strength; if I die then you're our last line of defence." As the unofficial leader of the Z-Fighters Goku knew this might be his final order.

Thankfully Raditz vowed to follow it. "You can count on me. Might even do better than you did!" he said.

"Yeah right!" Goku threw him a playful jab. "Hey, I'm heading over to Chi-Chi's while we still have time left. Goten should be there too, wanna come?"

"Ehh." The saiyan looked away, awkward and reserved. "It's a family thing really. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"So what? You're family right?"

Eventually Raditz agreed. "I'll catch you there in an hour or two. I could use a little more sleep first – if this is going to be the last time I ever fight I wanna be sure I can at least give it everything I have."

"Sure thing. See you there then!"

With a casual wave of his hand Goku headed out the door, smiling now that he'd added another member to their little end of the world get-together. He crossed the halls with a spring his step, skipping past the questioning men and women like they were hardly there at all. He could've teleported straight to his wife and son, but walking seemed like a good decision. Seeing all the innocent, curious lives going about their business served to remind him what he was fighting for.

He sensed fear and confusion at every turn. One way or another Goku knew those feelings would soon be put to rest; just a few more hours and their fate would be decided in fists. He decided not to dwell on the fight as he passed another small crowd. If these were to be their last moments he wanted to enjoy them – to spend time with his loved ones.

When Goku finally reached the door he was looking for he glanced about to make sure he was alone. Once positive he turned the knob and shuffled through the doorway.

This wasn't home. Home was a dome-shaped cottage nestled cosily in some isolated gorge in Mount Paozu. Home was where his entire family gathered on weekends, where a stone's throw in any direction led to adventurous little strolls through forests and rivers and mountains teeming with wildlife. Home was a vaporised nebula of space-dust drifting through the cosmos.

Even if that was all true, Chi-Chi had clearly done everything she could to make this temporary flat as familiar as possible, and for that Goku couldn't be more grateful. The lobby on his way in had been decorated on every wall with the photos of his old house. Pan and Gohan stared at him from a picture on the beach – the entire Son family happy in times without war.

Timed heaves from Goten echoed through the kitchen as Goku found himself aware again of the _click click _sound that came from their stove whenever it got too hot. The scent of lavender and chrysanthemum hanging over the room mingled with that of a beefy broth bubbling to its prime.

"Hey dad!" called Goten. In the archway between the kitchen and the living room the half-saiyan used the skirting boards above to perform pull-ups with his fingertips. On his face was a look of intense concentration as his lips mumbled numbers to keep count.

Chi-Chi's cry came next. Dropping the ladle in her hand she immediately left the stove and ran towards him. "_Goku!_"

Like a soft, perfume smelling pillow she crashed into his chest and wrapped her arms around her beloved. Only after a few tender moments of silence did the worrying start.

"Oh look at you!" she said, ruffling his hair back to its proper shape. "Your hair is a mess, you smell like a pig-sty and you're _covered_ in blood!"

Goku looked down to see she had a point. With all his appointments he'd forgotten to change. His orange gi was speckled with blood and torn in shreds where Alpha's attacks had struck him. The last thing he wanted was to go into battle looking like he'd already lost.

Chi-Chi went on. "Oh but it's good to have you back! You should have visited sooner!"

"I know," he confessed. "But it's been a long day. We've had a lot to discuss. Anyway I'm here now. I'll take a shower and get changed in a sec."

"You should talk to Goten first. He hasn't come down from that damn opening since he got here. Honestly he's as stubborn as you are!" said Chi-Chi, raising her voice so her son could hear.

"I'm training mom! Can't go into this unprepared!" he called back.

"See what I mean?"

Goku nodded and gave a wink to put her at ease. He knew how to deal with Goten. Chi-Chi made herself scarce in the living room, and once she was out of earshot Goku strolled calmly and casually over to his son, still bobbing up and down as he mouthed 'ten thousand' and counting.

"Can I talk to you for a second Goten?" he asked, politely as he could.

"Sure, go for it."

Near-silence fell as the saiyan continued his reps, nothing but steady breaths of effort and bubbling from the pot as no one said a word. As Goten reached ten thousand and ten Goku crouched a little and placed a finger beneath the sole of his shoe. One finger was all it took to stop Goten's descent.

"Hey, what gives?"

"You're wearing yourself out Goten. How are you supposed to fight if you're all burned out before you get there?" Goku started with the obvious question.

"I'll be fine!" Goten insisted.

"Listen, I know it's tough sitting around doing nothing while others fight, but a good fighter knows when to save his energy. You need to eat and get some rest while we still have time left."

"No can do." Finally Goten let go and hopped to the ground. "Trunks and I have had the same training schedule for years. If he's giving it everything out there then I have to do the same in here. I don't even know if he's still alive."

"I know how you feel Goten – probably better than you realise," he added, thinking of Vegeta. "But this isn't the way to go about it. You just have to trust him. If Trunks makes it back in time then you two might have to fuse. What happens if you're worn out?"

Goten bit his lip. "It won't work," he admitted. Fusing was pointless unless their energies were in synch. If his wasn't high enough the merger would fail. "But I can't stand all this waiting around. I feel like I'm wasting my time taking a break when everyone else is fighting."

"You're not just taking a break, you've got to prepare yourself for the next battle. I for one am gonna try this awesome looking stew your mom made. No sense fighting on an empty stomach."

The allure of good meat was too great for a saiyan tongue. Having smelled it brewing for the last few hours Goten finally allowed himself a lopsided view of it as he peered round the archway and straight into the path of its smoky aroma. The look of guilt on his face slowly turned to longing.

"Just wait until we beat Alpha and you can do all the training you want," Goku added.

That did the trick. With his tail visibly wagging Goten padded into the kitchen and grabbed a plate from the drawers.

"Pour me a bowl while you're at it, I'm just gonna hit the shower."

"Sure thing dad."

Grinning, Goku felt suddenly pleased with himself as he poked around the apartment searching for the bathroom. Their old sofa had been salvaged, the rug by the fireplace; even their crappy television set from the Stone Age was mounted on a bracket against the wall. Was there anything Chi-Chi _hadn't_ left behind? As Goku asked himself that very question she peeked out from a side-door.

"Don't be too proud, that same trick would've worked on you just as easily," she told him.

Goku pouted; was he really that predictable? She was probably right – Chi-Chi had distracted him with food beyond how far he could count.

Goten's voice then warbled through the opening, a muffled noise as he spoke with his mouth full. "Hey dad, can we do some sparring when this is over then?"

"Sure thing, I don't see any harm in it!" he called back.

"Oh no you don't!" said Chi-Chi. "You remember what happened _last time _you two fought in the house?"

Goku scratched his head as he thought back. It was a year or so ago, back when the two of them started a training regime together. Looking back though, the saiyan recalled little of much significance when the two of them started a ruckus over dinner. Eventually it clicked.

"Oh yeah!" he recalled – how could he forget? "Goten got me in that awesome chokehold until I passed out!"

"_You broke the entire living room!_" Chi-Chi snapped, her memory of it very different from her husband's. But walls and floors mattered little to two fighting saiyans.

"Kicked your ass with that chokehold!"

"You'll have to teach me that move when we fight later!"

"You know I fight with a _sword _now? You won't stand a chance!"

With a noise half a groan and half a snarl Chi-Chi threw up her hands and gave up. There was no stopping them when they got going. Hopefully these living quarters were only temporary anyway; it might not be such a huge loss for them to brawl after dinner – just as long as they didn't transform and blow it to pieces.

* * *

"So I land back on Earth, expecting to find Frieza and his dad all pumped up ready to fight me. Instead the whole group is out there waiting for me, Frieza's already blown to pieces and some new saiyan shows up. First person I see when crawling out of that spaceship is Vegeta, and you'll _never guess _what he was wearing."

Raditz leaned forward in anticipation as his brother finished his story. He would never get to hear about the prince's pink shirt, for when Goku next opened his mouth a high-pitched blare cut him off.

From her pocket Chi-Chi pulled out the source of the galaxy's most irritating ringtone. She held a pocketwatch of sorts, digital and screaming its constant beep until she pushed a button. Raditz and Goten traded looks of obvious confusion, but for Goku it was the sound he'd been dreading since he first arrived.

"Guess that's my cue," he said, climbing to his feet.

"Cue?" Goten looked to his uncle again and then back to his dad. "Cue for what?"

"Five minutes left until Alpha's portal opens," he told them. "Time sure does fly when you're having fun. Goten, I'll need your help for this. The timing has to be perfect or this won't work."

"Just tell me what to do."

Nodding, Goku turned to his wife and took her hands in his. The two of them had been through this a hundred times before; Chi-Chi never knew how long it would take him to return to her, or whether he would ever come back at all. The only thing she was sure of was that there was no stopping him. No one else was up to the task. It had to be him – the entire cosmos rested on his shoulders, and Goku could not abandon that responsibility.

With a kiss for good luck Chi-Chi wished him the best. "Go get him," she said.

No more words were needed. Goku clung to the shirt of his youngest son and pressed two fingers to his forehead. Without stopping to think he knew exactly where to send them.

A flash and a blur passed between the two as their surroundings changed. Right away Goten noticed just how much better his dad was at Instant Transmission compared to Uub or Novus; there was no prolonged tumble through space or a wave of nausea in the aftermath.

Shenron's hall surrounded them at all sides, his enormous double doors looming like the gates of heaven across the north wall. Ever since Piccolo roared across the room and scared the people half to death no more commoners had dared to enter the hall. Goku felt grateful for that; with the huge amount of energy about to engulf the room any normal humans would be killed in the crossfire.

"There it is!"

In just a few seconds Goku had found his mark, a small vortex of spiralling green ki hovering at the centre of the room. Foul energy spilled from it liked a cancer as Alpha's power polluted the atmosphere. Slowly it grew; starting out no bigger than a watermelon, half a minute later the portal was the size of a soccer net.

"How did you know it would be here?" Goten asked, curious.

"Piccolo told me. He said Alpha has a thing for theatrics, so he wouldn't settle for arriving anywhere else,"

"Thank god for Piccolo then. I never would've been able to work that out!"

"Me neither," admitted Goku. "Alright Goten, I need you to stand back a bit."

Goten shuffled back a few paces and looked back to his father.

"A little further."

Further and further Goten backpedalled until he almost touched the wall of the great clearing. Once there Goku nodded and gave him a smile.

"Perfect. Now do you know how to use the phone on that thing?"

"Sure." Lifting the bulky watch to his wrist, Goten flipped open the lower panel and punched a few buttons until he found the communications option. "Who am I calling?"

"Bulma. I need you to call her and tell me exactly how long is left on that countdown."

"Gotcha."

As Goten got to work on contacting their expert Goku found his eyes fixed on the swelling portal at the centre of the room. This was it, he told himself. To decide the fate of the universe he and Alpha would have to duke it out one last time. Through the void of the rippling tear in space he sensed nothing, but the _feeling _he got from it made his blood boil. Vegeta waited for him just beyond the veil – just on the other side of this portal. Suddenly Goku found himself conscious that he might jump the gun on the countdown from sheer exhilaration.

He could think of nothing else, his mind focused on that sole idea as he planned out his first move. Lost in his own world Goku took a few seconds to register when Goten called out.

"Three minutes and eleven seconds."

Taking care of his footing, Goku suddenly shifted to a fighting stance, anchoring his boots firmly at shoulder length. He dug in his heels, cracking the floor as he left inch-deep boot prints on Shenron's pristine floor. Slowly he began to power up.

A golden aura burst from him as Goku's hair transformed to a vivid shade of blonde, his eyes turning green in the process. From there he climbed higher to a Super Saiyan 2. The cloak of energy surrounding him suddenly morphed to an even more potent ki, coupled with wayward tails of valiant lightning to finish off the change.

A low, rising war-cry escaped Goku once Super Saiyan 3 was within his reach. Beneath him the great impression of a crater pooled about his feet, as if some invisible comet had suddenly struck the earth leaving the saiyan untouched. In thick golden locks his hair tumbled down to his knees, but the wild style wouldn't last long.

As Goku's shout grew louder the tremors began. Marking his ascension to the fourth level the room shook with a thunderous rage like an air strike had been called around the hall. The saiyan's hair receded back to its original colour and fur of a dark pink washed across his torso, his gi disappearing into thin air with the sparkling new spectrum his aura took on.

"Bulma says keep it down!" cried Goten.

But Goku wasn't listening. His roar reached its loudest and highest as for the first time in twenty-four hours he tried to access the Super Saiyan 5. Replacing the slight vibrations the room shook under earthquake, throwing Goten off balance. The circular crater surrounding his feet grew and grew, until eventually the entire hall was levelled to a bowl with innumerable chunks of steel taking to the air before crumbling beneath the pressure.

In front of him Goku still watched the portal, now through eyes of a glorious, shining yellow. In just a few minutes it had grown to quilt the hall in shadow, a writhing obelisk of violet and green that towered over him like a deity. Eventually it grew so large that it split the room in two, the ferocity of it only spurring on the saiyan's transformation.

Once the orange fur and golden strikes took their place alongside four spiralling pillars of thunder Goku began his next trick. With his cry dying down the saiyan summoned forth the Dragon Balls, magnifying his power as they emerged one by one from the solid wall of his chest. First the four-star, then the rest followed in sequence.

"One minute!"

As Goku continued to channel power his aura danced about him – the only part of him in motion. The rest was a statue as Goku stared unmoving and unblinking into the abyss. Finally, the moment he'd been waiting for. A single lapse in concentration here would see him dead in a heartbeat; here he would put all the skills he'd accumulated over the years to the test.

By now the pull of the portal was so intense that Goku had to use energy to keep himself anchored. The void swirled in circular motions, sucking in any heaps of debris it could pick up from the ruined floor. Once it was out of material it started on the walls; boulders of it tore free in clusters of steel, concrete and rebar as the support pillars of the hall were ripped away like uprooted trees. Goten clung to a door for support.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!"

_This is it_, Goku told himself, his yellow eyes never leaving the portal.

"Seven! Six!"

_I'm coming for you Alpha_.

"Five! Four!"

The saiyan bent his knees and poised his elbows; a practiced athlete waiting for the gunshot. _You too Vegeta._

"Three!"

_Was this what you had in mind when you always talked about fighting me again? I guess neither of us figured it would end like this._

"Two!"

Goku shoved his negative thoughts to one side. They would slow him down if he got carried away. _No. I'm getting you out of there, _he decided.

"One!"

_Whatever it takes._

"GO!"

As a crack like thunder filled the room Alpha's portal shifted and screamed out ki to reach its completion. With a draconic roar Goku shot off like a rocket and flung himself into the blue, eager to finish what Alpha had started.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Heya guys! This took me like a month or so but it's been my 21st birthday, had lots to plan and attend, try and understand :). Still can't believe you don't get to drink until 21 in the states, you poor saps!

Anyway this chapter was really filler-ish. It kinda had to be since I had a few hours to kill on Alpha's clock and still a few things to foreshadow. Giving Chi-Chi and Bulma appearances was also something I felt had to be done, even if I don't particularly enjoy writing them. Still, we got to follow Goku, that's always fun.

So then! The last battle is upon us. Goku against Alpha Vegeta. Just what awaits us? Who will come out on top? Find out on the next *ahem* "DRRAGGIN' BAWWL ZZEEEE".


	33. Chapter 33 Goku's Heart

Chapter 33: Goku's Heart

A tunnel of colours welcomed Goku, rocketing through the portal on a single straight course, fist outstretched to meet his opponent. Surrounding him the walls streamed by, rotating around the channel bridging dimensions and threatening to dizzy him if his focus failed. Upon sensing his foe Goku released a shout down the passage of the void. Summoning all his strength, the saiyan met Alpha at full power, his speed catching the dragon unawares.

Before Alpha Vegeta could defend himself Goku was on him, clashing at light-speed in a haymaker that shook the fragile membrane of the wormhole. As he tumbled back through space Goku saw the look of shock on Vegeta; he clutched his bleeding jaw with a snarl, just moments before the saiyan resumed his attack.

"_Dragon Fist!_" Shenron's golden impression burst from the Goku's knuckles in a roar that consumed Vegeta. Blackened and burned from the raw ki, Alpha hurtled back even further as Goku rushed to intercept. Fists raged in a hurricane; with Alpha still in recovery the saiyan used the time to deal more damage, pummelling Vegeta's exposed chest until his arms began to ache. Eventually the dragon turned, arching his body so that Goku's next punch smacked hard against the five-star Dragon Ball plastered into his skin.

A grin worked its way across Vegeta. From those same Dragon Balls he loosed a thin, rapid beam that would spear Goku through if he wasn't careful. A well-timed duck made the blast pass him by, ricocheting off the rounded walls of the tunnel a dozen times before sailing into oblivion. By then Goku's leg was poised in retaliation. A savage rugby kick careered into Vegeta's side, the move sending him flying once more further down the portal.

Again Goku closed in for another move, but as he neared Vegeta a bright light up ahead made itself known to him – the other side of the void. Whatever attack he had in mind was quickly discarded. Instead he used the speed of his approach to tackle Alpha from his feet, and with his arms firmly wrapped around the dragon's waist Goku flew toward the opening until the light swallowed them whole.

The two met the ground faster than Goku liked, separating in the fall and bouncing from the canyon rocks until both lay face-down in the dust, dazed and disorientated as they groaned their way back up. It wasn't exactly the landing that hurt Goku; he'd shaken off far more severe falls in the past, but this time the impact caught him unawares, like tripping over an unseen step in the dark.

After finding his feet again Goku winced at a pain in his side. Somewhere in his tumble a stone pierced his skin, fracturing a rib where it dug into his flesh. In a splatter of blood he pulled it free without a word of complaint. Taking damage this early on was hardly ideal; Alpha could regenerate, meaning his power would be at a constant for as long as he remained conscious. Goku on the other hand was made of flesh and bone – every drop of spilled blood would mount up until he passed out. The longer this went on the worse his chances got.

Here in the light of the planet Goku got a better look at something he noticed earlier. An ugly scar raced across Vegeta's chest, jagged and glowing red with recent closure, intersecting the three and four-star Dragon Balls. It was in no hurry to heal; unlike the rest of his injuries the scar remained, no doubt a memento from one of his earlier battles.

"Saiyans," Alpha mused. For a moment his face was as warped as personality; a swollen eye was nothing compared his jaw, jutting out of place two inches right of its normal position. He pushed it back sickening crack and swung his shoulders. "You're like cockroaches," he went on. "You stomp on one and the next thing you know another one just comes crawling out of the woodwork."

_That's right, Trunks! _In the heat of battle Goku realised he'd forgotten all about Vegeta's son. With a quick scan of his senses he raked the planet for any sign of life. Nothing: Trunks was either dead or on his way out.

"What did you do with Trunks?" he dared to ask.

Alpha sneered. "Oh, him? Dead – probably – if he's lucky."

Baring his fangs, Goku gave a roar in reply as the Dragon Balls on his body hummed to life. Golden beams shot off like lasers one after another, quick and deadly as they sliced through rock like butter. As the saiyan twisted his body to make sweeping arcs Alpha dodged them, no more difficult than skipping jump-ropes for him. He hopped over one before sweeping back his body to limbo beneath another, and with every evade he warped closer to Goku.

Once the dragon was close enough Goku threw himself at him. Before he knew it the two were lost in a life or death struggle, pumping fist after fist in a blitz for dominance. Goku would weave and block, his movements more precise than ever after recovering from the brink.

It still wasn't enough though. As Vegeta's tail lashed a nasty cut across his face the dragon seized the chance to counterattack. Grabbing Goku's ears, Alpha pulled him down, straight into the path of his right knee coming up for a face-breaking smash. Goku's teeth rattled in his mouth and his nose began to bleed as he blinked away the dark spots forming in the corners of his eyes.

Through a haze he saw Vegeta's mocking face again, dragging him up by his hair with one hand as the other prepared to ruin him. Alpha managed three clean shots to the jaw before Goku's hands found a solid grip on his shoulders, pushing up from the ground to propel himself in a spectacular head-butt to break the hold. Vegeta was hurled to the air; now was his chance. Rising up to meet him, Goku let the golden ki of the dragon wreathe his entire right arm before throwing it with a shout.

"_Dragon Fist!_"

Too late. Alpha steadied himself and vanished faster than Goku could follow. He cursed under his breath, watching his attack hit nothing but air; what a waste of energy.

"You and me Goku! Isn't this just poetic!? You know Vegeta always wanted this little rematch!" With his jeers on the wind Alpha zapped from space to space in a circle around Goku – first on the ground before him, then in the air behind him – never stopping long enough for an attack.

"He didn't want this!" argued Goku, shaking his head. "Vegeta fought with his own strength! He wouldn't settle for something like this."

"Bardock saw this moment in his dreams didn't he? You had all the warning signs and yet you came here anyway. What does that tell you Goku?"

With Alpha's movements becoming so erratic Goku closed his eyes; they would deceive him in a moment like this. For now his senses and his hearing were all he needed. Every high-speed dash of Alpha's was a pulse on his sonar as he listened to the crazed giggling of the dragon. Eventually Alpha lost his temper.

"ANSWER ME!" he roared, sick of being ignored.

Goku smiled. "Bad guys come and I stop them – I've been doing that for like fifty years. You didn't need foresight to see that I'd end up here."

Alpha's chuckling reached a high laugh as he danced around the saiyan. "You know what I think it means? I think this moment was pre-ordained – like nothing in the cosmos could've stopped this from happening; it was our _destiny _to fight here today Goku!"

"Ehh. . ." The saiyan gave a shrug. "Think what you want. I don't really care about any of that stuff."

Goku's eyes snapped open as a blip on his senses alerted him to Alpha. His aloof retort stirred the wrath of the dragon, and with both fists burning white with ki Vegeta rushed him from the side, leading with a giant right hand designed to slam him into the planet's surface.

Only Goku was ready. He let his instincts take over completely – gave his motor functions to the fighting reflexes he'd honed over the years. As his eyes snapped open, yellow and glowing, the saiyan ducked, pivoting off his left foot so that the battle-ready Vegeta sailed right by him. At that same moment his right leg came up in a kick. Goku's strength only made half of the impact; the fact that Alpha virtually threw himself into it made up the other half. The result was a devastating blow to a vital point across Vegeta's ribs.

Barrel-rolling into to the dirt, Alpha's recovery time was suddenly cut off as Goku grabbed him by the tail and flung him into the air. He watched him disappear into the clouds – over to a different location and well away from the dangerously close portal that still loomed in the foreground. Once he was sure Alpha flew far enough Goku lifted his fingers to his forehead and warped to intercept.

His gi was suddenly soaked by the moisture of the clouds as Goku wheeled back into a second kick. His heel met Vegeta's skull with a resounding crack, redirecting his flight back towards the ground. Seeing him soar downward, Goku wondered whether Alpha would recover before he hit the ground. Upon that thought he cupped back his hands, summoning energy from his massive supply.

"_Dragon KAMEHAMEHA!_"

The clouds parted in a circle about the blast as Goku's beam fell from the sky. As the dragon on the end roared to its prime the blast engulfed the falling Vegeta, catching him mid-flight before slamming him to a grassy surface. Goku didn't stop there; his cry echoed like a thunderclap from the clouds, getting louder and louder as he poured ki from his reserves into the attack, the beam pushing Alpha further down into the planet with every passing moment in a fountain of mud and stone.

When the Kamehameha finally dimmed to a vanishing beam of light Goku was left hovering in the sky. Puffing and panting, the saiyan put his hands on his thighs, taking a moment to catch his breath and centre himself. Alpha was far from dead; he knew that for sure. Even now his strength began to reform down in the dragon-shaped funnel his blast blew in the earth – he could feel it even so high up.

The only thing now was to prepare for round two. The dragon wouldn't be happy about that one, and when his rage got the better of him Alpha was even stronger than usual. Goku glided down from the cover of the clouds to get a better look. The smoking wreckage of his attack loomed far below; already green light began to peer out from the cracks as Alpha recovered.

As the scarred earth exploded a second time Goku was spurred into action. A thousand globes of yellow ki scattered from the ensuing mist. In single measures the blasts were harmless enough, but they attacked him in a fleet – an army of angry yellow spheres homing after him like a swarm of wasps whose nest Goku disturbed.

Flying his fastest Goku set off in a trail of orange light. Using Instant Transmission he surfed between them, flying further and further into the fleet until he reached the heart of it, surrounded on all sides by exploding grenades. At a first glance his tactics were awful, but a closer look proved otherwise. The spheres acted like heat-seeking rockets; as they gravitated towards him they slammed into each other, the slightest touch making them go off prematurely. Those that passed him by looped around to switch directions, inevitably clashing with another as carnage ensued around the saiyan.

Before long a thousand fiery explosions went off like fireworks in every angle surrounding Goku. Those that got too close he could swat away with a single chop or a blast from his fingers, but the same couldn't be said for Alpha.

The dragon himself joined the legion of attacks; half of Vegeta's face still regenerating from a ghastly skeletal look. With his attention already focused Goku lost this time to the Royal Assault. He diverted the first punch with a wax-off flick, but the second hammered into his torso – and the third – and the fourth; in fact twenty fists slammed Goku one at a time before Alpha settled for another approach.

Just like before Alpha seized Goku's neck and pulled him closer, leaving it just a few instants so the saiyan knew he was finished. In that time an idea occurred to Goku; with his power so great the technique might not work from a distance, but face-to-face? It _had _to do something at this range. Goku crossed his hands over his face and shut his eyes for the flash.

"_Solar Flare!_"

The flash lit up the countryside. As Vegeta recoiled scrabbling at his eyes his arms swung in frantic windmills to keep the saiyan away. It was a defence without tact or grace; a fighter of Goku's calibre had no trouble getting past it. Leaning under a blind punch, Goku put all his weight into a right hook. Alpha's thrashing made sure it hit his neck rather than face, but the force of it still smacked him off balance – enough of an opening for Goku to try something.

Like a slaver's whip the saiyan's tail cracked. Before Vegeta could raise his hands the furred appendage closed tight around his neck; it choked the breath from his throat in a heartbeat, a lock so tight that Alpha's first and only priority was an attempt to wrench it free.

With Alpha's attention elsewhere – and both his hands free – Goku took to his next idea. He grabbed a Dragon Ball from his opponent's stock, sinking his nails deep into Vegeta's chest to wrap his fingers firmly around it. Blood rushed from the dragon's chest as Alpha screamed, and that horrific sound intensified once Goku began to pull.

Negative energy from the ball smote his palms like a hot iron. Every instinct told Goku to release his hold and save his hands the burning, but the saiyan kept on pulling, thinking of it only as a thorny radish he had to uproot. As the pain spread up to his arms a sense of urgency gripped him – if he didn't act fast his power would be crippled again by the lasting effects of the vile power.

Instead of letting go Goku planted his feet on Vegeta's chest and arched his back. Using the full strength of his legs he could push against him. Veins throbbed up and down Goku's arm as his expression contorted into a look of agony. Just when his threshold was finally near the six-star ball slowly came free; jolts of lightning green and violet exploded from the wound as the ball tried desperately to magnetise itself back to its master, but Goku's strength was greater.

In a shower of blood and energy the six-star ball was torn from Vegeta's chest, and with his limit reached Goku dropped it immediately. Heavy as Piccolo's turban the ball plummeted.

As he loosened the muscles in his tail Goku released his foe, letting him breathe for a moment so he felt the full force of the saiyan's fist careering into his stomach. With a crescent kick that caught Alpha's jaw Goku sent him flying again, but this time he made no move to catch him; he had another target in mind.

With his fingers to his head the saiyan warped back to the surface – to where the six-star ball lay open for an attack. His punches fell like machinegun fire on the rock-solid alloy of the Namekian Dragon Ball. Just ten blows in and he found his knuckles cracked and bleeding, but a thousand fell before Goku decided it was no use; he'd have to step it up.

Spiralling upward, Goku drew back his hands and channelled ki into a globe – if his fists wouldn't do the job then his most powerful beam just might. As blue light spewed across the countryside though, it was joined by another. A red shine gleamed at the corner of Goku's eye. Looking down, the grass blinked azure and crimson - and violet where they collided.

"_Dragon!_"

"_Crimson!_" came Alpha's voice.

_Damn it, _Goku thought to himself. He couldn't afford to take another one of those beams; it would end the fight the moment it hit him – if last time was any indicator. Destroying one Dragon Ball was useless if he died in the process. As the light intensified he knew only seconds remained, and so with a growl of reluctance Goku cast away the energy in his hands – another waste of his power.

"_Oblivion!_"

Goku's teleport saved him with less than a moment to spare. As he zapped to a spot just a few feet away the Crimson Oblivion devoured where he once stood, the blast clipping his elbow for another burn mark to add to his list of injuries. Turning, he loosed a cannon of ki from his right palm – a beam swiped aside with a swift chop from Vegeta.

Then the dragon set off again. Just three moves into his approach and Goku lost sight of him; Alpha warped here and there, leaving deposits of ki where he bounced off the sky until something tangible triggered Goku's senses – a figure behind him. He turned with a punch that found only an afterimage; Alpha's malicious sneer vanished in a mirage the moment his fist phased through the illusion.

With his back wide open Goku prepared himself for the inevitable counter. Something hard and sharp – an elbow or a knee – smashed into his spine, heavy as a freighter. The saiyan's eyes rolled back into whites as the pain lanced through his body, the force of it driving air, spit and blood from his mouth in a half-conscious heave. His back seized in immediate paralysis and his vision went dark, and all the while he knew Alpha had his eyes on a single target.

When he finally returned to his senses Goku saw right away what he feared. With his fingers closed around the six-star Dragon Ball Alpha gave a devious grin, knowing his victory was near. The golden sphere glowed in his hands, shifting to purple and then back to gold as it magnetised to the open slot in Vegeta's chest. A cackle of energy set it in place, and with his power back at its fullest Alpha gave a flex of his arm to test the energy.

Goku swore under his breath; it was all in vain. Alpha wouldn't fall for the same trick twice – no way was he getting his hands on another one of those Dragon Balls.

A mocking laugh then rumbled from the dragon. "Nice try Goku! But you're really starting to get on my nerves now. I wouldn't worry though; I'll be over it once you're dead. Heh, you know right now I wouldn't settle for anything less than parading around your head when I pay your family a visit. Wouldn't that be just _lovely?_"

Imagining Chi-Chi and the others only renewed Goku's spirit. He couldn't afford to lose here; there was no one else left to man the walls of humanity's defences. Power splayed from a circle around him as the saiyan charged his energy, orange and flaming with four spiralling pillars of lightning to finish off his aura.

"I'm not done just yet Alpha!" he cried.

* * *

_Dad. . . Goku. . ._ Trunks's eyes remained the only part of him he could move. From the flat of his back the half-saiyan watched the two figures in the distance, clashing across the sky in a furious sequence of thunderclaps. Occasionally they came close to him – once or twice they flew right over – but Goku never saw him. Trunks couldn't blame him; when one fought Alpha, looking away for even a second could make all the difference.

Again Trunks made an attempt to move his hands, gaining only a wrench of pain from head to toe as a reward for his efforts. It was useless. The extent of his physical injuries married the negative energy coursing through his veins to form a match made in hell. In the last few hours it occurred to Trunks a number of times that he'd rather be just there.

Ash battered his face and buried him beneath the waist as the polluted atmosphere made his throat feel like sandpaper dragged across gravel. A single drop of water was all Trunks desired, but out here even that was too much to ask. Witnessing this fight was the only thing that kept him going; no matter how much Alpha assured him that their end was nigh, experience taught Trunks better. Goku wouldn't go down without a fight, and neither should he.

In a spectacular lightshow of blue and orange comets the two fighters sailed right over his head again as their battle reached new pastures. They'd taken to chasing each other through the sky, trading fists and blasts as they each geared up to their fastest speeds. Before long they were specks on the horizon, and then they were out of sight.

The battle raged on in Trunks's senses as Goku and Vegeta continued to fly further and further away. Ten minutes later and they reached the other side of the planet; on Earth that might not be so impressive, but the sheer size of this gargantuan world meant that they'd manage to traverse every conceivable landscape for thousands of miles on a single course, levelling the countryside as they went.

A whoosh and a gust of wind suddenly directed Trunks's attention elsewhere. Another power had arrived beside him, this one considerably smaller than any Z-Fighter he knew. Right away Trunks wondered who could sense him in such a sorry condition; Goku had obviously missed him and everyone else was off in another dimension. His eyes wandered towards the source, but whoever it was lay just beyond his peripheries. Trying to crane his neck only earned him another round of hell.

"Easy Trunks, I'm here to help."

As he spoke a figure strode into view. Pale lilac skin, a shock of marble hair, a red combat suit and pointy ears with a Patora Fusion earring fastened onto each; even with his vision a blur Trunks knew right away who it was.

Kibito-Kai rushed to his side and crouched down, placing a palm flat on his chest. "I can heal the physical side of your injuries, but Alpha's damage is beyond my skill," he said as he channelled energy. Rays of yellow light spread in ringlets from the point of his hand to wash across Trunks's body, cleansing him of all the wounds he'd amounted over the battle. Trunks couldn't believe his luck.

In any case it quickly became apparent that the Kai's healing powers weren't nearly as refined as Dende's. Trunks felt his skin sew itself shut; ribs snapped back into place without any warning and blood poured from every injury as his heart-rate doubled like a jolt from cardiac paddles.

When Kibito-Kai was finished Trunks tried to stand. No luck; Alpha's gift of negative energy still tainted his body. Trunks barely made it onto all fours before he crashed back down. Crawling like a worm was about the best he could manage. It was definitely an improvement as far as Trunks was concerned, but it made little difference in the grand scheme of things. He couldn't beat Alpha from his stomach.

"Thanks for the help Kibito-Kai, but you shouldn't be here," he said. "It's way too dangerous – if Alpha senses you-"

"-I'll be long gone by the time they get back here, trust me." The Supreme Kai gave a smile to put his mind at ease. "As soon as I'm done here I'm heading over to meet Piccolo."

Rolling onto his back Trunks felt his breathing return to normal. The sword of Hyperion still twinkled some twenty yards away, its blade buried in the soot – a legendary sword waiting to be pulled free. Just seeing it gave him an idea. As long as the sword still remained there was hope for him; Kibito-Kai had given him once last chance to set things right.

"This is all my fault," muttered the Kai.

Trunks propped himself up to get a better look at the man. He eyeballed the blackened sand with a glum look of self-pity, like he'd somehow failed them all. Trunks racked his mind for any mistakes he might have made, but for all he knew the Supreme Kai had done no wrong. "What do you mean?" he asked at last.

"Part of my plan relied on you being able to win this round. I thought as soon as you picked up that sword you'd understand its purpose, but it seems even Novus didn't know what it can really do," said Kibito-Kai.

Trunks watched him eagerly, his gaze urging the Kai to continue.

The pale overseer sighed, knowing the information was useless now. Telling Trunks might only hurt him more, but the inquisitive stare was hard to ignore. "I don't think Hyperion gave you that sword so you could _kill _Vegeta," he revealed. "I think he gave it you to _liberate _him."

The words brought a wondrous look of joy to Trunks's face. In an instant his expression transformed from sunken defeat to eager delight. His heart fluttered, his head went dizzy and his fingertips grew numb; Trunks had to shake his head and make the Kai repeat the sentence before he finally believed it, and with a new purpose he swivelled himself back to the sword.

"I appreciate the help Kibito-Kai, but you should go join the others now – it'll be too dangerous here once I transform."

"Transform?"

"That's what I said." Still unable to stand, Trunks settled for throwing his elbows out, using them to drag himself across the ruin like a worm. Every movement ached, but the sword gleamed just up ahead. _Just a little further_, he told himself.

"Are you insane? Look at the condition you're in!" said Kibito-Kai. "You can't even stand, so how exactly do you plan on fighting?"

Struggling through dry rasps, Trunks filled in the overseer. "Hyperion's sword is made of pure positive energy – a _lot_ of it. If I use it right I should be able to reverse the effects of Alpha's attack. I'll be back at full strength in no time."

"But you're still exhausted! We need to know when to cut our losses and live to fight another day."

"I only need enough stamina for one attack right?"

"It's still far too risky! What if he drags you into another fight? You won't last ten seconds! How do you expect me to explain this to the others? They'll never forgive me for letting you go back out there!"

"Then I guess it's a good thing it's not up to you then."

"Trunks-"

"-If my dad were here he'd do the same!" With a scowl on his face Trunks propped himself up and met the stare of the Kai. "You don't tell Vegeta when he can and can't fight so don't save your orders for me! I'm not a child anymore. This is my choice."

After the two locked eyes for a time Kibito-Kai finally gave in. He'd seen the same look before; one of raging passion and an unshakable resolve to get the job done. It reminded the Kai of one thing: that despite all their differences Trunks really was his father's son. They shared more than he cared to admit - the boy inherited more from the Prince than just a stern face and a tail.

"This is part of your plan right? I won't screw it up again, you have my word," said Trunks.

Kibito-Kai sighed. "I can't stop you. Just give it your best shot."

"I will." The saiyan gave a nod. "Now get going, other people need you besides me."

After a long last look at Trunks an Instant Transmission saw Kibito-Kai warped from the battlefield. The swordsman turned back to his blade; just fifteen more agonising yards to go, slugging through ashen snow on his belly – a military crawl to salvation.

_On second thoughts I really should've asked him to carry me over there._

* * *

Rays of colour blew the mountains alight as Goku hopped from rock to rock, his every jump just an instant quicker than the blasts chasing his shadow. Alpha Vegeta loomed over the highlands like their deity, bombing round after round at the orange saiyan in his sights. As Goku dodged he searched for a chance to break free, but Alpha had him pinned. Every escape passage he took was promptly cut off by a beam blocking the way.

"_Goku!_" Alpha called down, "I must've misheard you – didn't you say you weren't done yet? Seems all you can do is dodge my attacks!"

Not daring to stop, the saiyan carried on evading as his mind searched for a way out. Vegeta's blasts only ever got nearer; one of them would hit him before long, and every opening Alpha got was another chance for him to bring the fight to a close.

Seeing a path through the carnage Goku set off for the dragon. Beams pelted up ahead like a meteor shower and he met them all with a different answer. Some he could punch away, others he phased through with an Instant Transmission, and those he had more time for were blasted from the sky with a shot of his own. All the while Goku kept on flying up, each movement propelling him closer to Alpha Vegeta.

Once he was close enough the saiyan arched his body to a sky-rising uppercut. After a half-successful dodge Goku's fist merely kissed the chin of his opponent, leaving a graze and nothing more before the saiyan spun into a kick. His boot met Vegeta's sternum with a crack. The dragon appeared to be in pain for a moment; then he only looked angry.

As Goku's leg fell back into place his left arm swung forward in a hook. Alpha's lean was inch-perfect. With the tiniest sway of his body the dragon bobbed just out Goku's reach. The fist sailed straight past his jaw, and with his enemy exposed Vegeta jumped back into range with a counter-punch, his gloved hand meeting the saiyan's nose in a splatter of blood.

Grabbing Goku's collar Alpha began to plummet back through the clouds. With his free hand the dragon pummelled without mercy, right fist wreathed in magnificent white energy. Falling further the two began to pick up speed as Alpha flew them down. Goku's hands rose up instinctually – anything to block a hit or push Vegeta off him. One glimpse down and the saiyan watched the peaks of the mountains racing towards them, too fast for him to avoid.

A final smash to the temple rendered Goku faint and fading. Alpha let go and pulled up, veering just in time to avoid the sharp summits of the mountain range. Goku wasn't so lucky. Headfirst the saiyan careered through miles of slate, igneous and finally bedrock. That last one hurt the most; boulders hard as steel breaking on his crown drew blood on all sides from Goku's crazed mop of hair as he tore through the planet's crust.

When he finally slowed to a halt the saiyan was a mess. A chunk of stone pinned down his shoulder, one eye was a squinting pulp and blood streamed in rivers down his face, dripping from his chin to form a pool around his head. Surrounding him on all sides was a crater big enough to house ten Shenrons – the impact of his hitting the ground made a bowl like an atomic bomb strike.

Shoving aside the tonne-heavy rock weighing him down, Goku found the boulder had somehow managed to dislocate his shoulder. He didn't feel the pain; head to toe he was numb and tingly – a mix of his adrenaline and all the other damage acting as a distractor. It would hurt in time, he knew, so as he grabbed his wrist Goku prepared to twist it back into place.

Instead a kick from the last Shadow Dragon put him back on the ground. Alpha wouldn't let him tend to his injuries; he had Goku right where he wanted him.

"You know, at first I thought you guys were amusing," he said. "I always thought it was cute that someone actually thought they could oppose me."

As Goku struggled back to his knees Vegeta's boot knocked him down once more, meeting his face with every ounce of ferocity Alpha could summon. By the scruff of his gi the dragon pulled him back up, hitting him three times before letting the lifeless saiyan fall in a heap to the rubble.

"Now you're just getting annoying," Alpha confessed. "I grew bored of you long ago and yet you _KEEP-" _A foot smashing against Goku's ribs punctuated his last word. "_BUTTING-_" A second kick slammed home. "_IN!_" The third one found his injured shoulder, pushing it further out of place as the saiyan released a scream across the canyon.

As his opponent lay helpless and beaten Alpha hopped up and down on his toes with his arms up in the air – an appalling winner. "_WOOO!_" he whooped alongside Goku, his voice joining the cries of the saiyan as they called out to the empty planet. With Goku clutching his shoulder on the ground Alpha mocked him further by counting up, pointing at every number like a referee at a boxing match.

"_ONE! TWO! THREE! FO-_ Actually forget that." Rather than going all the way to ten Alpha instead seized Goku's tail. Three times in quick succession he flung the saiyan over his head, each time throwing Goku into the ruin of his crater in an explosion of grey smoke. Blood marked a triangle of spots where he hit the ground before Alpha grew bored. He tossed the saiyan aside like an old doll, shouting "_Ding ding ding!" _as he declared their match over.

"Whassa matter Goku? No more fight left? No more backup? Noooo last attack you've been saving until now? Nope? C'mon Goku we need a little back and forth here! Humour me!" the dragon jeered.

Crumbled stones slid from the saiyan's tunic as he summoned all the willpower and energy he could find. Slowly he struggled to his knees, and then following a slight wobble he eventually found his feet.

"You're right, I can't beat you. I know that now; there's no point even trying to match your power," Goku confessed. "But there is _one _technique I haven't tried yet."

"Oh?" Alpha folded his arms as his head tilted in interest. "Well don't keep me waiting."

Still shaking below the waist, Goku drew a single giant breath, filling his lungs with air. The dragon dropped into a combat stance to defend. From the look on his face Goku knew he expected a beam – or some incredible shout of energy expelled in one great burst from his mouth. Instead only words spilled from the saiyan's lips; a plea for aid.

"Vegeta, I know you're still in there,-" he began.

Alpha's cheeks bulged like balloons before he erupted in a fit of laughter. Clutching his ribs, the false picture of the Saiyan Prince cackled until his side ached and his eyes streamed with tears.

But still Goku carried on his speech, deaf to the taunts of the dragon. "-Listen to me, you can fight him! Don't let this thing control you!"

"_This _was your last idea?" Alpha mocked. "_Haha! _Brilliant! You really never cease to amaze do you?"

"-Look at all he's done with your body! All the people he's murdered! Are you really going to let him get away with all that?"

"You're wasting your time Goku. Vegeta's waaaaaay out of your reach now," said Alpha.

"-Well that doesn't sound like the Vegeta I know! Where did all that saiyan pride go all of a sudden?" With every sentence Goku refused to acknowledge a single word the dragon said. He looked straight through the scarlet eyes; he was talking to Vegeta, and nothing Alpha said would deter him from that. "Since when did the _Prince of all Saiyans_ allow himself to get beaten by some stupid dragon without a body of his own?"

Alpha furrowed his eyebrows as vague amusement turned to a scowl. "Alright," he settled. "That joke ran its course Goku. You're just getting irritating now. Honestly it's embarrassing to watch."

"-Whatever happened to our rematch? How are we going to see who's stronger if you're dead!?"

The dragon's patience ran out as his aura flared in rage. Without even realising Goku touched a nerve; the one thing Alpha couldn't stand was being ignored. He crossed the five steps separating them in the blink of an eye, flashing straight to Goku before a hundred fists drummed into his stomach. With his eye for flair Alpha finished with a spinning, jumping uppercut. By the time Goku hit the ground Alpha was certain he was dead.

The dragon turned to walk off again, managing only a few yards before the growl of the determined saiyan stopped him in his tracks. Goku was back on his feet, continuing his speech as though nothing happened. Even with eyes half-lidded and the hint of a slur in his speech the saiyan endured.

"Think about your kids – and Bulma too! They're all waiting for you back home; everyone is!"

Alpha's fist met Goku's eye in a white cloud of energy, but rather than falling flat on his face again the saiyan staggered to his knees. Alpha didn't waste the opportunity. With a hand clutching Goku's shirt the dragon could keep him in place with every blow, pummelling him over and over until every side of him was a swollen mess.

"Keep this up and he really will kill me Vegeta! You're really going to let him do that?"

"_Would you shut up and die already?_" Alpha screamed, increasing the speed of his wailing fist to a point where Goku could hardly refocus his vision before being punched back to dizziness. If he stopped talking he knew it would be the same as giving up. He just had to press and press until Vegeta heard his voice. Belief kept him flapping his mouth, even as he felt consciousness slip from his grasp; belief that his efforts weren't in vain – that the Prince of all Saiyans was still in there somewhere.

"You can do this Vegeta!" he cried.

Finally Alpha's wrath reached its peak in a crimson globe forming at the split of his palms. A red shine blinded Goku, and in his sorry state it took the saiyan a moment to realise he was staring at a point-blank Crimson Oblivion. Alpha's laughing started again over the hum of energy swirling to his hands – a sound Goku knew would haunt him forever. Knowing his end was near, the saiyan threw back his head, closed his eyes and released a final, desperate cry that echoed across the planet.

"_VEGETA!_"

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Alpha really likes beating the tar out of our heroes doesn't he? Last two fights he's just got his opponents in a position where he can kill them with one shot quite easily, but instead spends a few minutes venting his anger by clobbering them and rubbing it in.

So yeah, here we saw a pretty desperate Goku going all out and losing in pretty spectacular fashion. Been waiting to write that last scene for a while now, never actually considered until I wrote it that it links in with Alpha's only pet peeve of being ignored. Yay for totally unintentional continuity!

Trunks seems to be doing better – a little. I imagine there's some head scratching going on as to what the hell Kibito-Kai was on about that whole scene but we'll get to that soon enough.

We should have a lot of fun with the next chapter. Make sure you don't miss 34, it might just be one of my best. I imagine by this point most of you at least have an idea of what I'm building up to.

Also, I got a question from Jeff the other day. Hey Jeff, thanks for the review. Jeff asked when the hell Novus was taken away by Kibito-Kai. Good question – we never actually saw her get taken away by him, but earlier in the scene you mentioned (in which she wishes Piccolo good luck) the Kai asks for someone else to help him transport Gohan right into the fighting, a role which goes to Novus.

I imagine he came back and took Novus with him shortly after he sent Piccolo away – right when Goku and family are having their little gathering. I didn't write it in because we already knew about it and to be honest I couldn't be bothered penning out yet another scene where Kibito-Kai shows up, does something important and vanishes. He's just been a blatant plot device since day one in DBAF xD Anyway I hope that cleared up any confusion anyone had, sorry if it was a bit unclear.


	34. Chapter 34 Vegeta's Pride

Chapter 34: Vegeta's Pride

Eons in solitary imprisonment left the prince of saiyans a broken man. With nothing but his thoughts to keep him company the decades; the centuries; the millennia – they came and went until the sixty years he spent in reality were all but forgotten. A white ocean surrounded him on all sides, completely blank with no walls or height boundaries. Even his shadow was denied to him.

With no name and a long-discarded memory the saiyan sat in the opal sea, reduced to nothing but a husk of his once godly power. Here sat an old man, skeletal and sunken, his grey hair and beard in a mess everywhere around him. The peak of a mortal's physical form was traded in for the body of a feeble, used-up slave. His muscles ached from the constant degeneration, every rib was visible, the joints in his elbows and knees resembled knots in a rope and his eyes were as dead and forgotten as the white canvas of his mind.

He sat there in the light with no idea how many years he'd been on his current train of thought. His arms hugged his legs, his frail chin resting in the basin of his knees. How long since he last moved? He couldn't remember anymore. With no way to die and no way to live such questions were meaningless.

Sometimes he would walk for years on end, picking a direction and hoping it led him to salvation. These dreams were discarded when he finally realised there was nothing to find. His world was no more – this place was infinite. Perhaps he'd try again when all his thoughts were exhausted.

In all his time trapped the man had yet to experience a single event. The ages confined him to a place where nothing happened because nothing _could _happen. Timelessness made him forget everything he knew as eternity took its toll; one never got bored of boredom.

So when a breeze murmured past him the old man struggled to his feet as fast as his brittle bones would allow him. It was gone as quick as it arrived – a travelling echo that streamed across his consciousness. Such cruel tricks were commonplace here; his mind had a tendency to deceive him in the vague hope that someone might arrive.

And yet this time something was different. He could've _sworn _something was there. For the first time since he could remember he actually experienced his sense of hearing; decades sat alone in silence rendered it foreign to him.

For a time he stood in silence, trying to gauge whether it might happen again. He was about to return to his sitting position when it came, clearer this time.

"Know. . ." it called through the void. "Still in there."

The old man turned to locate the sound, his eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. His heart leapt in joy – it was real. Someone was really coming.

"Listen. . . Fight him!" it added. "Don't let this thing control you!"

With every line the voice became clearer and clearer, until eventually he realised it was a man's, crying out from somewhere in desperation.

"Look at all he's done with your body! . . Really going to let him get away with that!?"

At last the old man found the source of the foreign voice. It came from above, echoing out of that great golden fissure someone carved into the sky. He studied it now, even more confused than before. How long _had _that glowing chasm been there? Was it there all along – from the very beginning? His head hurt when he tried to remember. He put the thought out of his mind as he continued to listen.

"Where did all that saiyan pride go all of a sudden? . . Since when did the Pr. . . beaten by some stupid dragon without a body of his own!?"

_Saiyan pride? _The man shook his head, wondering what the hell that was. The two words lingered on his lips until something else invaded it – a sudden flash – an image seared into his consciousness. There stood a man, dressed in orange, his expression one of happiness and optimism.

Even after the image struck him the old man could still see it. Every time he blinked it was there – that goofy smile; his eyebrows raised in a constant state of mild confusion. From the front his hair was a sequence of six gravity-defying spikes all sticking out in different directions. It was all familiar somehow; he _should _have known it.

Right then he knew. The voice calling through dimensions and the man he saw – they were one and the same.

_That voice_, he wondered to himself. _That face. . . I know him. _The man scratched his head. Nothing sprang to mind, only an overwhelming sense of déjà vu clawing its way further forward. Something was on the tip of his tongue: a long forgotten name.

"Whatever happened to our rematch? . . See who's stronger if you're dead!?"

_Rematch. . . Yes. I remember something like that_.

Another picture hit him, this time of a woman. Young and beautiful, her blue hair tumbled in locks down to the base of her neck. She smiled a cherry lipstick grin and gave him a wink, and suddenly the man found himself turning red for no particular reason.

He searched for her name. It too was something he knew from long ago; he cursed himself over and over and trying to remember it. Something drew him to her; somehow he reached the conclusion that no matter what, this woman was the most important thing in the world. The man blinked and blinked furiously to preserve the image. He couldn't even remember her name, and yet her presence defined him. More than that, she completed him.

With his voice on the air the saiyan's thoughts turned back to the sound. He studied the golden scar in the ceiling as he did so, trying to pin down a name. _K. . . K. . . There was a K in there somewhere, _he told himself. _I'm sure of it._

"Think about your kids!" the voice told him. "They're all waiting for you back home; everyone is!"

_Kids? _No sooner had the man asked himself that question did another image flash across his mind. This time there were two people in the frame. One was a teenage woman, similar in hair and face to the last one he saw – like a younger version – or her daughter perhaps? The second was a man with lavender hair, clearly a fighter judging by the sword on his back and the impressive physical build.

When he returned to reality the old saiyan realised he was on his knees. His hands shook before him and tears streamed down either cheek before he could tell himself to stop. The visions pained him. They were memories, of that he was now certain, but who were they? He knew they were significant, but he could not remember _why _they mattered – that was the hardest part.

_Kago. . .Kogu. . . Goko. . . Was it. . . _The man looked up – a name had suddenly come to him. _Goku? _He asked himself. A few seconds passed before he shook his head and discarded the idea. _No, that just sounds ridiculous._

"Keep this up and he really will kill me!" said the voice.

_Kakarot! _The word hit him like a smack in the face when Kakarot's next round of blubbering wailed through the crack in space. As the name resounded in his mind the saiyan suddenly realised he was being judgemental; he _knew _this Kakarot somehow. Pre-existing opinions began to resurface – friendship, contempt, envy – he wondered how complex their relationship had been.

And then the rest caught up with him. A million flashes raced through the saiyan's brain one after another in a sensory overload of still memories. Falling down, he saw himself at different points in time; as a child, a man, a prince, a husband, a warrior, a father, a leader and a rival. People from his past life were in every image, and slowly his countless experiences with them returned to him.

The saiyan came back into consciousness as soon as the flashes ceased, lying spread eagle on the ground. Like a jigsaw making itself his mind pieced together the collection of memoirs from his past, slowly forming a single unified timeline that began to make sense. Names of all his loved ones came back to him: Bulma first, then Trunks and Bulla, followed by Kakarot and all the patronising nicknames he used for the men he called comrades.

Until at last the only question left unanswered was his own identity. All that remained now was a burning desire to remember who he was and escape this cage.

"You can still do this!" Kakarot urged him on.

Still on the floor, the saiyan awoke looking at his hand in front of him, shrivelled and wrinkled like some decrepit fossil. Right before his eyes it gradually changed. His fingers and wrist thickened, his knuckles hardened and his nails grew back out. Veins upon his palm vanished into his flesh, restoring a long lost colour that now washed up all of his skin. Before long the bony appendage became a steel tool of destruction.

Rolling to a sitting position he raised his new hands to his face. Second by second the beard faded away into a clean cut; he felt the prickly bristles of a close shave there for the first time in an age. His hair in tangled mats on the ground receded magically upward. He watched as it turned from a light grey, darkening and darkening until it formed a proud, spiked crown of midnight black, vertical in its grandeur.

His vision grew clearer; gone was the blur that hid his life from him. He felt stronger than ever – more alert and alive than he ever thought possible. The eons of his time spent here began to fade away. The decades were minutes, the centuries hours and the millennia days. Like waking from a dream, the man slowly realised that his stay was all an illusion. He'd been asleep for far too long.

He would never forget his name again. Its return to his mind finalised his transformation. The name defined him – gave him purpose. He was the last surviving monarch of a fabled warrior race. He lived for the rush of life or death combat.

"_VEGETA!_" As if to confirm it Kakarot's scream echoed the name, louder and clearer than ever.

The Prince of all Saiyans smiled to himself and clenched a fist. Clothes from seemingly nowhere materialised to replace the dilapidated rags that hung off his body; black pants and a tight cobalt vest. Now he looked the part.

_ Of course_, he thought then. _This is my mind. I make the rules here_.

Once restored to his former glory Vegeta opened up his arms and shouted into the void, his anger reaching its limits.

"_Come on out Alpha!_" he roared, opening himself up for a free shot. "Or are you too much of a coward to face me yourself!?"

Even as he spoke the saiyan felt his voice morph from a feeble rasp into a commanding growl. He tensed his muscles and charged energy into his hand, relishing the familiar sensation of power in his grasp. Vegeta wondered how he could ever forget such a feeling; he was born to fight, that much was clear to him ever since he remembered.

When Alpha arrived his guise was in darkness. Vegeta suddenly found himself standing opposite a dusky clone of his own body, a man made of dripping, gaseous shadow with his scarlet eyes as the only things that appeared to be solid. Studying it further, Vegeta realised that everything about the doppelganger was a precise replica of his own form. His hair rose in the same exact number of spikes and at a closer look he even wore the same straight scar around his arm – a token from protecting Kakarot all those years ago.

"How did you escape? You shouldn't be able to break free of that technique! Tell me how you did it!" Alpha demanded. His voice too, was a cruel echo of Vegeta's own.

The saiyan prince merely grinned as he dropped into stance. "Your arrogance knows no limits Alpha," he said.

"_My _arrogance?" The clone recoiled, laughing quietly to himself. "Oh Vegeta, my poor poor Vegeta – does hypocrisy run in the-"

"-You actually thought you could keep _me _under your control? You aren't the first freak to try and steal my power and I doubt you'll be the last. If you had any sense you would've learned from the mistakes of those who failed before you."

"I think you're missing th-"

"You should've prepared yourself for this. What's the saying they use on Earth? Play with fire and you might get burned?" Vegeta's smirk changed to a scowl. "_I _am the _Prince of all Saiyans_; you've got a pretty big pair on you to tangle with the likes of me – that or you have a death wish, dragon."

Alpha's teeth slammed shut on his silver tongue as he opened his mouth to reply. Vegeta's uppercut crashed against his jaw, blood and venom flying in a fountain as he charged forwards shrouded in golden ki. He was done talking. Fighting came back to him instant by instant like picking up a half-read book for the first time in years. His fists charged in a frenzy, clubbing every inch of Alpha's shadow-drawn face before his kick flung the creature to the air with a Big Bang Attack ready to fire.

The explosion left yellow sparks glimmering across the void. Through smoke and flame Alpha's burned form plummeted down and bounced off the ground. Vegeta wasted no time bounding ahead, where a flick of his tail caught the dragon by the arm.

"What did you really think would happen?" he snarled, slamming a fist to Alpha's exposed ribs. "That I would remain trapped here as your little puppet until your days are over? That I would disappear quietly into _nothingness?_" Another punch on his final word managed to drive his point home. With the powers of the Super Saiyan back under his control Vegeta became a fighting machine once again. By the end of his rant he'd ascended to the second level without realising.

"Not on your life dragon. Sounds like Kakarot and the others could use some help out there. What say you and I get started on the warm-up?"

With a final elbow to make himself clear Vegeta released the grip on his tail, tossing Alpha's body aside like a sack of garbage. The saiyan took his position and harnessed his energy, letting it gush around him as an inverse waterfall of golden fire. He watched through green eyes as the shadow dragon lay there on the floor, never making a move. The prince would let him recover before attacking again; he wanted Alpha to _know _their difference in strength.

"Get up dragon. I won't be satisfied if this is the best you can offer," he said.

"You really want to play this game Vegeta? You must think you stand a chance now that you broke free of my little trick." Slowly Alpha pushed himself back up. "But I _own _this place – I own this world; I own _you_, Vegeta. A mongrel that bites at the hand of his master will only be put down. I no longer have any use for you. Hell I'm just here for giggles at this point; it's quite funny watching your friends when I'm in this body. The reality is that I've gathered enough energy to assume my true form. When I'm finished here you will die as I rip you apart like a beautiful butterfly springing free from its cocoon. It's all quite poetic don't you think?"

A single step sent Vegeta hurtling toward his foe. Having heard enough the Prince of all Saiyans burst into action with a sucker punch straight to the nose.

Alpha barely even twitched – the attack was nothing to him. Instead Vegeta felt his wrist buckle and almost snap as he punched a solid wall. When he pulled back his right hand he could see the blood seeping through his gloves.

The dragon gave a smile, chortling to himself. "You'll have to do better than that," he said.

"So you're not all talk after all," Vegeta mused, shaking off the pain. "Good. . . I haven't had a good fight in years. Don't disappoint me!"

As if to fulfil his wish Alpha started with a barrage of green energy globes – a hailstorm of nasty stings pelted Vegeta's way. Another surge of power saw the prince as a Super Saiyan 3, and with it he dodged round after round, dashing between explosions in hazy strokes of air – supersonic steps that let him weave between the destruction. Fire nipped at his skin at every angle where the rounds detonated beside him. Avoiding death led him to the air, where his massive energy and great mane of golden hair made him an easy target.

When Vegeta next blinked Alpha was gone. Turning, the prince brought up and arm to block as the dragon's fist met only his old scar. He'd given Alpha the opening on purpose; Vegeta worked better off the counterattack. With a heave of his body the saiyan drove his left fist straight into Alpha's stomach. A spray of spittle flew from him, with a few drops landing on Vegeta's cheek. The prince responded in anger; his hands flew out, burning with energy as he charged an attack.

"_Final Flash!_" In a brilliant flare of golden power Vegeta's technique burst a firework across his own realm, blasting Alpha out of the air. As he fell the saiyan laid into him, landing six straight shots across the jaw before he hit the ground.

Even then Vegeta didn't stop. Still poised over the dragon, Vegeta's hands became wreathed in gloves of white power as his Royal Assault technique made its return. Blood coughed from the throat of the dragon as he turned his attention to Alpha's stomach. His fists were a drumroll – a rain of power attacks flattening every last mote of air from the lungs of his opponent.

The moment he felt a surge of power Vegeta sprang away, seconds from being on the business end of a column of dark energy shooting to the air like a beacon. Alpha snarled, annoyed that his beam amounted to nothing before the fighting began again.

A foursome of punches battered his chest before Vegeta realised he was under attack; Alpha's speed and power shot up again, seemingly limitless in its reserves. Before he knew it the prince found himself slugged across the decks of his mind by a haymaker and chased in his ten metre face-slide by twin beams, coiling around one another in a green and black helix.

Kicking the ground hard allowed the saiyan to shoot himself into the air, spinning back into stance and avoiding the blast in a single move. Alpha was on him already. Like a bullet the dragon speared Vegeta from his hover, slamming him back down to the floor in a supercharged rugby tackle. Coughing up blood, Vegeta gave himself a moment to focus before retaliating.

He bounded back onto both feet in an instant. With Alpha's arms still around his waist the dragon pushed forward – an attempt to throw him back onto the ground where he could do more damage. Vegeta drew himself to his tallest and shifted his weight downwards. Like a struggling bull Alpha continued his charge, but the saiyan had him by the horns. From his new position of power it was easy for Vegeta to raise an arm before bringing his elbow down on the dragon's back.

As Alpha released a sound of pain Vegeta felt his grip relax; now was the time to strike. Holding him down, the prince drove his knee straight into Alpha's face, finding a grin of satisfaction at the familiar crunch of his opponent's nose. Alpha recoiled with a wail as molten shadows dripped from his veiled features – no doubt his equivalent of blood.

With hands wreathed in a heavenly white ki Vegeta threw himself at his enemy, right hand first in a leading punch. Unfortunately Alpha countered in the same moment. In appearing as a dark replica of the saiyan prince the dragon had no advantage in range. Simultaneously both threw the right hand, using their lefts as a means to catch the punch of the other.

The result was a power struggle. As the two fighters formed an equilibrium they pushed back with all their strength, their energies meeting as they splayed like wildfire around them. Beneath their feet the foundations of the dimensions gave way to a crater, ever-growing in size with the increasing amount of force being generated above it. It wasn't long before Vegeta began to tire – veins pulsed on his arms and temples as the muscles in his arms began to quake under the pressure of his enemy.

As Alpha's fist reached closer and closer the saiyan noticed the look of hunger on his face. The dragon licked his lips, his eyes wild with longing like a starving dog before a meal.

Vegeta's saviour came in the form of his memories. Since the battle began he slowly began to ease back into the fighting spirit, his power growing with every blow. Super Saiyan 4 found him just in time to be of use.

As streaks of red fur grew across his torso Vegeta's hair reverted back to its original shade of black. His power tripled in the blink of an eye, and with one burst of explosive strength he broke the hold locking his right fist in place. Keeping a firm grip on Alpha's punch he brought his free hand over and drove it down. Alpha's elbow snapped the wrong way like a twisted stick of rebar.

Alpha screamed again as he jerked his mangled arm away. Vegeta moved to use the opportunity and win the fight, yet the dragon was anything but a fair loser. Thin, piercing lasers quicker than any move Vegeta had ever seen suddenly leapt from Alpha's chest, crisscrossing across the battlefield to form a deadly lightshow to put the saiyan on his toes.

When one nicked his cheek for a deep gash Vegeta knew not to take them lightly; they could impale him if struck dead on, but Alpha left them all in a continuous stream. They would cut him in half if he let them. As the dragon moved his body from side to side, screeching as he clutched his arm, the beams made a net of unblockable attacks, difficult to evade even for a Super Saiyan 4.

After counting exactly seven of them and taking note of their energy Vegeta deduced they were a move from the Dragon Balls; Alpha must have absorbed all seven of them at some point. The saiyan cursed to himself at the realisation – how long had he been inactive? What had Alpha done to the outside world while he languished here in some illusion?

The thoughts were quickly pushed from his mind as he rocketed higher to the sky, spinning between the 'x' of two travelling beams before throwing back his body to let a third sweep right over him. Three more approached; one from the left, one from the right and one from below. Vegeta harnessed energy and waited, hoping more and more with every passing moment that the Super Saiyan 5 would finally return to him. He wouldn't survive long here without it.

"_Kamehameha!_"

Vegeta's fortunes changed as a beam of azure swerved past him, arcing down towards the surface of the dimension for a direct attack on Alpha. The explosion threw the dragon off his feet as his crazed attacks subsided; Vegeta knew he had about five seconds before he struck back in rage.

Turning, he followed the flight-path of the Kamehameha. His voice had given his identity away, but still Vegeta didn't believe it until he saw with his own eyes.

Kakarot had arrived. Through the enormous golden scar in the sky his goofy expression poked out, his palms smoking after the attack. He held out a hand, beckoning for Vegeta to come with him into the fissure.

"Kakarot!" said the prince. "Is that really you? How did you get in here?"

"I dunno!" he insisted. "Alpha froze for a sec! So I tried reading your mind and I just sort of arrived here! Now hurry! We can finish him later! Let's just get you out of here!"

Vegeta shook his head; none of it added up. Kakarot showing up at such a convenient time? It was too good to be true. Alpha had kept him trapped using illusion techniques for weeks. It didn't seem a stretch to imagine that this might be another extension of his power.

"How do I know you're really Kakarot?" Vegeta asked.

Kakarot replied with a dumb stare and a raised eyebrow. "Huh?" He blinked twice. "What are you talking about? Come on we really shouldn't stick around here! Let's just get your body back, beat this guy up and go home – I told Chi-Chi to get us some food ready!"

_Never mind, it's him_.

"_Crimson Oblivion!_"

_What?_ Vegeta rolled through the air away from the rising cannon of his own attack. Kakarot took cover behind the lip of the golden crevice as the beam bounced harmlessly off it; what concerned Vegeta more was the technique his enemy used. Now that he was back in control, Alpha shouldn't have been able to use the Crimson Oblivion. Regardless, he made Vegeta dodge a second wave just to assure him he wasn't seeing things.

_He's assimilated my attack_, he realised, grimacing. Without the Super Saiyan 5 fighting against that kind of power was unthinkable; the only thing left now was to get away.

So Vegeta continued on, speeding skyward at Kakarot as continuous blasts of his own attack raced up like rockets from the ground far below. The distance made them inaccurate, but Alpha's impossible wealth of energy meant he could fire them out as easily as belching. Just one direct hit would knock him out of the sky, so Vegeta kept an eye trained on the ground as three more soared up in crimson pillars on all sides.

"Come on Vegeta! Nearly there!" called Kakarot.

A sonic boom echoed from his feet as Vegeta accelerated into top gear. Jerking to one side he avoided another blast and threw a few back to detonate his followers prematurely. Kakarot and the golden fault line were nearly within reach; he saw nothing but a bright light beyond it – that was his ticket back to the real world. He streamed ahead, making for the opening in a final push; he was within arm's reach when the unthinkable happened.

Vegeta halted in place, frozen by a sharp pain bolting up and down his spine. Looking down he noticed Alpha had grabbed his tail, his speed making him lurch forward in a Super Saiyan whiplash. The pain only worsened when Kakarot threw out his hand to grab the prince's arm. A tug of war quickly began Vegeta's his tail and his shoulder; he'd be stretched from both sides until one was eventually torn off.

Determined not to let that happen Vegeta charged energy to his left hand – a blinding light of lime green ki that pierced the shadows of Alpha's new form. Throwing it downward, the Prince of all Saiyans finished the job.

"_Final Shine!_"

With the jade explosion flying from his arm Vegeta's leg was suddenly released. Alpha fell, burning and bleeding as he went.

A final heave of Kakarot's arms sent the two of them tumbling into the golden crack between dimensions. Light enveloped the area as the fissure closed behind them, and for a whole half a minute Vegeta kept his hand over his eyes, shielding himself from the intense rays. His hand was a silhouetted blur before him; Kakarot was hardly even visible.

Alpha's energy was gone in an instant. Besides himself, Kakarot remained the only living thing for miles in any direction. Stretching out his senses gleaned Vegeta nothing. Wherever they were, this definitely wasn't the real world.

As the saiyan's patience began to wear thin the light finally dimmed. The pair found themselves on a plain grey veranda; around them shone the eternal void of the empty white space. To Vegeta it looked like the same bland locale of his mind, but the presence of a central bunker made it more akin to the Room of Spirit and Time. He shook his head – it was destroyed three years ago.

At a closer look there were tell-tale differences; bookshelves filled every corner, the tables were lavished with exquisite china, a grandfather clock sat by the wall, a punching bag hung from the ceiling and photos of pictures never taken lined every spare shelf. Vegeta wandered over and inspected one: his father stood proud in his royal saiyan uniform, his boot over the defeated body of an enemy species. The photo next to it however contained people he only barely recognised: Baldie, the hermit, Gohan with his ridiculous bowl-cut, some old turtle, Bulma's weakling ex boyfriend and the anthropomorphic pig.

Kakarot wandered over, making a face when he saw the two pictures side by side.

"Alright so where the hell are we Kakarot? I thought this led back to the real world."

"Ahh I think I know what happened!" When Kakarot spoke Vegeta could nearly _see _the lightbulb over his head, completely oblivious to how ridiculous he sounded. "I think maybe when I pulled you out we created a sub-dimension between my mind and yours."

Vegeta's palm met his forehead. "And how could you possibly know that?" he groaned.

"Kibito-Kai told me years ago that it might be a side-effect of us crossing minds; he said it might happen with fusion. I've got no clue what all that actually means though. How about you?" Kakarot asked, hopeful.

"It doesn't sound fun," said Vegeta. He shook his head again. "We're wasting time here. We need to figure out a way to escape this place; Alpha could be doing anything outside."

"Actually I think we're frozen in time."

"Kibito-Kai told you that as well did he?" snapped the prince.

"Nope." With his first finger Kakarot pointed over to the grandfather clock by the wall, something Vegeta had hardly glanced at. Looking closer he saw all three hands were stuck; the pendulum beneath was suspended mid-swing at a slight angle. Vegeta turned back.

"Kakarot I believe we're frozen in time," he concluded.

"Hey that was my line!"

"So how do we leave? I'm sick of this place already – and I've got unfinished business with the dragon."

Kakarot shrugged. "We might just have to wait it out – see what happens."

"I've been waiting for far too long." Vegeta clenched a fist. Just the thought of that creature using his body made his skin crawl. Every fibre of him wanted to fight. With Alpha still inside him though he couldn't think of any way to challenge the fiend. He would get his body back, sure – but for how long? It might take Alpha only seconds to get it back. Vegeta realised with a start that Kakarot may have just pulled him out of the only battlefield he was going to get.

Staying angry at Kakarot was impossible though. The big clown took a stride forward and slapped a hand of reassurance of his shoulder, beaming that giant smile of his that betrayed nothing but sincerity.

"Just take it easy. We'll be out of here soon," he said.

Vegeta sighed, powering down at last. "Fine, I'll play along for the time being," he decided. Alpha was a problem they couldn't afford to ignore. Since time was frozen however, it made little difference.

As if on cue the empty air of the void finally grew some features. Starting off as a distant rectangle, something drew closer and closer from the foreground. As it neared Vegeta squinted to see; Kakarot put a hand to his forehead beside him and peered over the veranda. Flickering images glided towards them on a screen. Just like the photos, they contained stills from both Kakarot's life and Vegeta's own – a product of their crossing minds.

Eventually the screen reached them. Filling out an entire wall it spanned close to ten feet in height, its length that of the whole room. At twenty different frames every second Vegeta found himself with no idea what exactly this thing was supposed to be showing them. He'd already reclaimed his memories and gone through this whole spiel. Was there a point to any of this? Kakarot didn't seem half as curious.

"Whoa! Look at this thing Vegeta! It's like that TV in your living room!"

Vegeta said nothing, instead shooting Kakarot a sideways glare.

"Ohhh yeah," said Kakarot, suddenly covering his mouth. "You've been dead for three years. I forgot all about that! I bet you miss that thing, I sure would. You know it got even bigger? Well – I mean, it _did_. And then. . ." The saiyan trailed off, suddenly realising he'd said something wrong. Putting his hands behind his head, Kakarot began to whistle a merry tune. Any half-wit could see through him.

"What happened to my TV Kakarot?"

"Well – uhm. It's less about your TV and more about. . . You know. . . The entire Earth."

Vegeta's heart lurched as a million thoughts raced through his head. His home – his family – what had become of them while he rotted away in some corner of his mind?

Seeing his sudden look of panic Kakarot flapped his arms up and down. "But it's okay!" he assured him. "We took everyone there over to Shenron's place! Everyone is fine!"

His family's safety was some consolation, but it still left a hundred questions unanswered. "Even so, the entire planet. . ." Vegeta muttered. Anger descended over him once again as the saiyan made a noise and shook a fist. "Which one was it? Frieza? Or Cell? I'll blast them all from existence!"

"Actually it was Alpha," said Goku.

Vegeta shot him an obvious look, dread welling up in his stomach. "Alpha?" he asked, praying he'd misheard.

Goku only nodded.

"As in the one using my body – that Alpha?"

". . ."

"I'm going to kill that bastard," he decided then. "I'm going to tear him limb from limb – and I'm going to enjoy every second of it."

"Knock yourself out. That guy is _mean,_" said Goku.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: "No more breaks!" oh yeah some great writer I am, can't even keep my promises. Things just keep popping up one after the other; had to submit my dissertation the other day, 20,000 words – that's like four chapters of AF about capitalism and ideology with every sentence using _Harvard referencing_, can't stand it. Anyway to make up for lost time I'm gonna try and post the next one within the week. It's the least I can do at this point. Hate keeping people in suspense, especially now that it's this close to the end.

So yaaaay, _finally _we got a Vegeta centric chapter. He came back with a series of badass one-liners just in time for the finale. Left it on somewhat of a cliff-hanger since he and Goku still aren't back in the real world, but they shouldn't be there for long.

Oh yeah, and that giant golden crack in the sky in Vegeta's mind. Anyone figure out what that was? It was actually Trunks's attack - the _Sky Rend _that leaves a giant scar down his chest. I figured that like Alpha's attacks it lashes out on the soul as well as the body. Goku's voice travels through that tear in space and he later pulls Vegeta out through it. So yeah, indirectly Trunks had a massive impact there.

Next chapter focuses on one of my favourite parts of the Dragon Ball series – the relationship between Goku and Vegeta. They have such a weird and awesome bromance going on but we only rarely get to see it in AF because the plot demands they spend so much time apart (Goku was missing for most of TROSAT and Vegeta has been for this one).

Also as funny as it was I don't think there'll be another character POV chapter. Having to call Goku 'Kakarot' the entire time is exhausting! See you next time!


	35. Chapter 35 Liberation

Chapter 35: Liberation

With Hyperion's sword at the ready Trunks skimmed the surface of the nameless world. His eyes sagged and his clothes were damp with sweat; the Super Saiyan 5 was a hard transformation to maintain. Far in the distance his senses detected the two fighters battling each other for dominance. The world around him shook whenever one of them launched a powerful attack.

As he neared Trunks got a better gauge of the battle: Alpha was winning. Goku was fighting with everything he had, and yet the dragon was still slowly but surely beating him into submission. It was only a matter of time now. Spinning the sword, Trunks accelerated to greater speeds, but the planet was enormous – he still had a ways to go.

Kibito-Kai's words kept him going. He replayed that moment over and over in his mind. Suddenly everything had made perfect sense to him; he knew the sword's true purpose, and he was the catalyst for it. Without Trunks the plan wouldn't work. He felt his eyes slowly close again before slapping himself awake and speeding up. So much depended on him; he couldn't afford to screw up.

Far up ahead the battle came to a standstill. Trunks sensed the two saiyans stop. It was odd, they were present in energy and form, but neither of them seemed to be moving a muscle. Were they having a stare down or something? Fearing the worst, Trunks raced forward through the narrow slip of a glacier, suddenly finding himself over a range of tropical islands as he hit top speed.

_Stay alive_, he prayed. _You'd better not kill each other before I get there_. _Just a little longer_.

* * *

Ten minutes of watching a flickering slideshow of past memories proved too boring for saiyan tastes. It wasn't long before Goku and Vegeta took seats at the table, heads slumped in their hands as they waited for something significant to happen. Before them pictures whirred by faster than they could keep track of – there was no point even looking at it.

"So. . ." said Goku. "Been up to much?"

Vegeta glared his way. "Really? Have I been up to much?" he asked, twitching uncomfortably in his seat as he tried to keep his anger in check.

"Well we went on a bunch of adventures! You know there are planets out there with like a bazillion different aliens on them? I mean we saw a few when me and Trunks and Pan went to space, but this one was huuuuuuuge. I guess with Frieza and his family out of the way the galaxy had time to prosper."

"That's good to know," Vegeta muttered. Veins started to throb on his temple; Goku thought he'd touched a nerve.

"So what about you?" he asked.

"I spent two and a half years training in the afterlife, six months walking down an endless corridor and a million years stuck in that place you pulled me from."

". . ." Goku's eyes widened, amazed by the revelation. Vegeta's look alone told him not to pursue the matter, but he was too curious by nature. He was happy to see his friend – conversation was essential. "Was it. . . Fun?"

Just when Vegeta looked about to punch him the saiyan's eyes veered off in another direction. He sat up to attention like a startled rabbit as a voice played from the screen. With an excitable glance at his friend Goku leapt to his feet like a child on Christmas, saying "Yay! The movie started!"

"Thank god," said Vegeta, joining him by the screen.

The still sequence of pictures gave way to a video, slowly coming into focus after the first ten seconds were nothing but a blur. Two voices were playing, full of static and distortion. They also cleared as the quality improved. The first was obviously Frieza, but the second was foreign to Goku until the prince himself turned into view.

Up on screen the tyrant was joined by a young Vegeta - six or seven years old - garbed in the royal saiyan armour his era demanded. The pair of them strolled into a room where a third saiyan was strapped to the wall, covered in blood where the bindings chafed his wrists. It was another memory – that much was clear, but its significance escaped Goku. When the tiny prince opened his mouth he'd barely spoken two words before Goku started laughing.

"Lord Frieza, why are w-"

"_HAHAHAHAHA!_" Goku roared, drowning out the film with a continuous chuckle. Gone was the gruff, commanding growl of the Vegeta he knew. "Is that _you?_" he asked. Beside him the prince's shaking fist confirmed it. "That's brilliant! Look at your little cape it's adorable!"

"Enough! One more word and I'll blast you!" argued Vegeta, red with shame. "I thought you wanted to watch this?"

"Alright alright alright! I'll be quiet! Jeez!"

As Goku slapped a hand over his mouth the two saiyans took to watching the movie in silence. At all times the child Vegeta stood three steps behind Frieza out of reverence. His servants were not allowed to share the same space as him.

"I brought you here to test your commitment Vegeta," said the overlord. "You _are _committed aren't you?"

Vegeta nodded without a word, his eyes meeting those of the captured saiyan chained to the wall. Behind them there was no pity, no remorse; no empathy. At a young age the prince of saiyans had learned to hide those emotions – they were dangerous in front of Frieza. So when a bloodied member of his proud race was presented before him Vegeta hardly even flinched. The man opened his mouth to speak.

"Pr-Prince Vegeta! I! He-he's lyi-"

"Enough of your snivelling, I am talking to Vegeta," said Frieza. He strolled over, and with a single flick of his tail he smothered the saiyan's face, suffocating him slowly. "Kill him boy. This man is a heretic."

The boy looked from the saiyan back to his master. After a few seconds of deliberation he shook his head.

"What was that?" Frieza snapped.

"He's a saiyan. . ." Vegeta's eyes met the floor; the man's furry tail was a dead giveaway. He was the prince of an entire race; what kind of monarchy killed their own subjects?

Frieza spoke in a soft drawl, like a comforting relative with a reptilian slur. "I know this is hard Vegeta, but sometimes deserters come from within our own ranks. See this man as a poor example of a saiyan – the kind you don't want in your army."

Vegeta looked at him again for a few seconds, now thrashing for air under the unbreakable hold of Frieza's tail. "I won't do it," he said. The boy's red mantle swished as he turned. Vegeta headed for the door.

"Now then boy, don't you remember our agreement?"

Vegeta stopped in his tracks, freezing as the tyrant's voice reached a warning low.

"Your subordination was the price your race paid for keeping your lives and your planet. You obey my every command and the saiyans get to live – they even get a place in my army." Frieza smiled as the man beneath his tail made frantic grasps at the air. "That was what your father and I agreed on," he finished.

"You made that decision by yourselves! I didn't agree to any of that!"

"Your permission wasn't necessary. I'll put it simply Vegeta: If you don't obey me I might just be inclined to kill your father – or your mother. I could wipe out your entire race in an instant if I wanted t-."

Frieza's rant was brought to an end by a solid beam of ki flying from the young Vegeta, burying itself in the saiyan's chest before detonating in a shower of blood. Smiling, Frieza released the saiyan, unveiling his face for the prince to witness his last expression – one of only confusion and betrayal. He drew his last breath and hit the ground with a smack, still smoking from the hole in his chest.

"Happy now!?" Vegeta snapped.

Frieza beamed. "Very much so! Well done Vegeta!"

That smug, winning grin did little to sully Vegeta's wrath. Seeing it he charged in a moment of madness, power surging around him as he sprang up for a flying punch at his lord. Right before his eyes Frieza vanished; one second he was there and the next he was gone. The boy watched as his fist sailed through nothing but air, his face showing horror before Frieza slammed it into the wall.

A purple glimmer in the corner of his eye was all Vegeta saw before his cheek met steel. He lost consciousness for a moment, head swimming and eyes blurring from the pain. When he came back around seconds later Frieza had him pinned to the wall, shoving his face further into the alloy until he could taste oil and iron.

"Do _not _do that again," Frieza instructed him. Vegeta battled against the hold to no avail; the monster was unmoveable – like small planet was holding him down.

"Remember Vegeta, you're the strongest specimen your race has to offer right now. If I can do this to you, what chance do you think your weakling race stands against me? I'll save you for last so you can watch it all."

With his lecture over Frieza tossed the prince to the ground, bleeding and in tears. He was too weak to make any retort; Frieza figured he'd made his point. He headed for the door. Right as he was about to leave though, he stopped like an idea had come to him. Casually he marched back over and gave Vegeta one final kick in the ribs. Vegeta coughed up blood and clutched them with a scream. Frieza made sure he stayed conscious.

"That's so you remember," he said, turning away at last. On his way out the tyrant passed two minions at the door. His words were faint and distant, but Goku and Vegeta still heard them through the echo of the screen – a final insult to the saiyan prince.

"Get him up," he said. "There's a nearby moon I want him to subdue in the morning."

As eager as they were to see more, Vegeta's memories denied the two saiyans more time to watch. The screen fell back into a cycle of images, the video over as young Prince Vegeta passed out on the ground.

Goku found himself at a loss for words. The memory was too traumatic – nothing he said would put Vegeta's mind at ease. Coolly the saiyan prince took a seat back at the table and poured himself a glass of water, all the while avoiding eye contact with his rival. Clearly he was troubled, but Goku couldn't respond. Part of him figured Vegeta would blast him for ever mentioning it again; the saiyan's temperament was legendary after all.

"Relax Kakarot, it's all in the past. Ghosts don't scare me anymore," said Vegeta, reading his mind. Still he avoided Goku's stare as he took sips of his drink.

"I didn't realise it was that bad. . ." Goku mumbled.

"It was Frieza. What were you expecting? All smiles and rainbows?"

"I guess not." Sighing, Goku wandered over and took a seat beside his friend. "I wonder why it showed us that moment though. Was it important to you?"

Vegeta nodded. After another swallow he replied, "That was the day I decided what to do with my power; I had a reason to seek it out beyond mere saiyan curiosity. I swore that I would become stronger than anyone else, so that my strength was mine and mine alone – I would use it for my own goals, not for some corrupt ruler. Imagine my disappointment."

"Don't beat yourself up," said Goku. "We're still gonna win. You and me – Alpha won't stand a chance!"

"Kakarot I need you to listen to me. Just this once," said Vegeta.

As the prince's face suddenly sobered Goku sat up to attention. Vegeta's tone didn't exactly scream optimism; Goku found he was suddenly dreading the saiyan's next words, and rightly so.

"I've been thinking about this since we got here. Alpha's still inside my body. Once we return to the real world we might have a minute before he takes control again. You won't get a better chance to finish him."

"You don't mean-"

"-Yes." Vegeta stood up once more and smacked the table, rattling everything that lay there. "When that happens you strike. I'll power right down to make it easier – then you better blast me with everything you've got!"

"I can't do that!" Goku's complaint fell on deaf ears. Grabbing him by the collar, Vegeta dragged him off the chair, pulling him face to face.

"After everything we've been through I don't want to hear about what you _can't do_. Look at yourself Kakarot! I'm guessing he beat you to a pulp out there!? If you've got another way to destroy him then I'm all ears!"

"I don't," he admitted. "But I thought you wanted payback? How can you get that if you're dead!?"

"You'll have to do it for me. Alpha said himself that he can assume his true form any time he wants now. If he gets control of me again he'll do that in a heartbeat – and we'll all be dead anyway. As for me, I'll be killed the second it happens. I'd rather die by your hand than his; I don't want to give him the satisfaction."

Goku shoved himself free and turned away. "I can't agree to this."

"You know as well as I do that this is the only way," said Vegeta. "You have to promise me Kakarot. Don't hold anything back – anything less than your best and he'll claw his way back to life."

"I-. . ." Goku trailed off, defeated. "It's just. . . After Chronus. . . I swore I'd try and bring you back no matter what – and we really tried! I searched high and low for an answer. Three years and you finally come back – just so you can die all over again?"

"Kakarot this is my choice, it isn't your failure. You can either give in to your soft heart or put the needs of the universe first."

"Heh." Goku's voice hitched. Peering past him, it took Vegeta a moment to realise he was actually crying. "Never thought I'd hear you say something like that," he sniffed.

Vegeta shrugged, grinning. "Yeah yeah, you've rubbed off on me, that what you want me to say? Do we have an agreement or not?"

Still red in the face, the saiyan turned back around. With the shredded sleeve of his uniform he wiped away the last glimmer of tears. Goku took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Then:

"Alright. . . If this is what you want. I'll do it," he agreed. "But don't ever ask me to do anything like this again."

"Don't worry Kakarot – I doubt I'll have the chance to," said Vegeta. The Dragon Balls were now all gone and he'd crossed Hyperion's road once before; there was no longer any way for him to return to the living. If he died now it was all over, and yet he still didn't mind. This was the necessary sacrifice they had to make.

A mumbling from the screen caught Vegeta's attention. Goku was still busy composing himself, so with a jab of his elbow the prince got his attention and beckoned to the screen. The hologram settled on a street in West City, quiet and sombre in the red evening glow with no cars and only two people in sight.

The first was a young Goku, barely over three feet tall in a plain red combat suit, his tail swishing left to right as he watched the second slowly disappear from view. From behind the other boy's identity was impossible to make out; he wore a blue suit with a funny top hat. Once he was gone Goku remained there outside for a moment, gawping down the empty sidewalk like he was missing something obvious.

As he recognised the scene the older Goku turned away from the monitor.

"I don't want to watch this," he said quietly. "Not again."

Vegeta tsked, crossing his arms. "Such a baby. I watched mine – man up and look at the damn screen."

After a few seconds' consideration Goku eventually faced the memory. Together the two saiyans watched his younger self enter the building to his left. He walked in to the view of a gorgeous looking banquet, adorned with beef, stir fry, chicken and fish; the perfect diet for any fighter. Familiar faces sat at every chair – Vegeta even caught a glimpse of a teenage Bulma – but their voices were muffled; inaudible to the two viewers.

One look at Goku and it was easy to see why: he wasn't paying attention. The pint-sized saiyan sat on his own with his hands over his lap, staring down at his feet and hardly giving a thought to the feast laid out before his eyes. When Goku ignored food something _had _to be wrong. His eyes showed a boy gripped by confusion and unease as morbid thoughts played on his mind.

The gang held off on eating for a while. Without proper sound it was hard to tell why, but after studying it closer Vegeta got the sense that they were waiting for someone to arrive. When that person never showed they grew impatient and decided to start without them. Voices suddenly cleared to the chant of "_Dig in! Dig in!_"

The first wave of Z-Fighters tucked into their meals, with Oolong quickly seizing a slice of meat to battle with. Turtle looked up from his plate.

"Goku, is there something wrong with your food?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry," Goku said plainly. "I'll wait for Krillin."

"He probably got distracted and lost track of time," said Bulma.

Goku looked down at his food, mouth-wateringly alluring and ready for him to devour. Nerves stopped him though. He couldn't bring himself to take a single bite.

"Eat Goku!" Bulma urged him.

In the blink of an eye Goku's bad feeling cemented itself. He sat up to attention, transforming his look from boyish naivety to a cautious scowl in an instant. Suddenly he was ready to fight, as though he expected King Piccolo himself to walk in through the front door.

Tien set all three eyes on him. "What's wrong with you?"

Paranoia drove him to the edge. Before anyone knew it Goku hopped off his chair and bolted out of the room, oblivious to the calls of Bulma and Yamcha as he rushed down the street in frantic breaths. Panicking the entire way, Goku ran down half a dozen blocks before finally turning off and passing through a great gate.

As he dashed down the long, tiled driveway Vegeta suddenly realised they were looking at the venue for the World Martial Arts Tournament, albeit older and completely lifeless in the late evening – the perfect time for an assassination. Passing huts and umbrellas Goku made straight for the waiting room, stopping as he reached it with a sudden scream.

There, lying on his back with a broken neck was the same suited boy they'd seen disappear into the sunset just a few minutes ago. He'd gone to fetch the gear Goku forgot – the Four Star Dragon Ball and his Power Pole. A surprise attack never occurred to them until it was too late.

"Krillin!" Goku ran over, cradling the lifeless body. "No, no, Krillin, I'm here! Wake up!"

Beside him the nameless tournament announcer struggled back to consciousness; at least he had been spared.

"It was the monster!" he managed. "It-it came through the window it-it took a little ball and a list of names from the tournament! It got away."

"Krillin!" Goku shouted, shaking him one last time. It was no use. The two saiyans watched his face as he suddenly came to the realisation. "H-He's gone. . . He's gone. . . It should have been me. . ."

Darkness claimed the screen as Goku's memory came to an end. The saiyan released a sigh, depressed after watching that horrific moment one more time. It was nothing he hadn't played over in his mind a thousand times before; if he'd remembered his things or at least gone to fetch them himself Krillin never would have died.

"Geez, how many times does Baldie have to die before he takes the hint?" Vegeta quipped.

The joke did little to lighten the mood. Instead Goku looked even sadder, covering his face with his hand as his shoulders sank. Vegeta knew it could only mean one thing.

"What, _again?_"

Goku nodded slowly. "You shouldn't speak about him that way," he said. "Krillin's been the difference between winning and losing for us in the past."

"He has his moments, I'll give him that," Vegeta admitted, shrugging. "But I'm more interested in this memory of yours Kakarot. You've seen comrades die before. Why did it pick that one?"

Absently Goku sat himself on the table, kicking his legs back and forth like a bored infant as he pondered away. The memory _was _significant. In a way it mirrored Vegeta's.

"That was the first one," he explained. "After that I knew I had to become stronger and stronger, so that I could prevent things like that from ever happening again. I didn't know where all my power came from back then; all I knew was I had some kind of edge over most of my competition. Since I was the strongest, I knew I should take responsibility and protect those closest to me."

"Some would call that foolish," said Vegeta. "You can't save everyone Kakarot."

"You think I don't know that after all these years?" Goku snapped, suddenly reminded of all those killed at Alpha's hands. "The only thing I can do is try my hardest. If even one person gets another chance to live because of my power then it's all worth it – at least for me."

The prince couldn't help but smile. Both of them, it seemed, had very simple outlooks on fighting. Their motivations were different, but they shared a similar black and white code that told them when power should be used. One was a shield for the innocent, the other a spear against tyranny – if one was threatened in any way they would rise to the challenge; it was as simple as that.

As Goku got back to his feet the world around them began to shine once again. With the memory-screen gone the whiteness of the void started to intensify. They were done here at last, and yet Goku couldn't help but wish they had a little more time. Vegeta didn't seem to agree.

"Finally!" he growled. "We're done with this whole pointless charade."

Goku shrugged. "Oh come on, it wasn't _that _bad! I feel like I understand you a bit better Vegeta. That's better than nothing right?"

Vegeta paused; he was denser than a rainforest, but Goku's musings showed more insight than he let on. Maybe that _was _the whole point of bringing them here. It was the only real outcome of prying into each other's memories. As the light enveloped them the prince couldn't help but agree – it wasn't pointless after all.

"Yes Kakarot. You too."

* * *

Through the fabric of space Goku and Vegeta hurtled faster than any teleport, twisting and turning through a winding wormhole until the real world rushed into view.

The impact knocked Goku to the floor. Returning to his body, the saiyan lurched so quickly and suddenly that by the time he found his feet he was already falling over. His cheek hit the gorge with a smack, a pain he couldn't have welcomed more; they were back.

Goku scrambled to his feet, ignoring the orange powder from the canyon floor smeared across his face as he rushed to see Vegeta. The saiyan prince remained opposite him; right where he'd been when Alpha started beating every breath from his body. This time he was different. Vegeta stood in his usual form, dressed in blue with his pearl white gloves and upright wave of black saiyan hair.

The two said nothing for a few seconds. Vegeta remained still, looking at his hands as he rocked back and forth.

"I think I'm-" _alright _would have been his next word, but instead a scream lurched out of him as crippling pain drove him to his knees. His back seized in sudden fits. Black lines streaked up and down the length of his arm as the saiyan roared, fighting the demon within. When he looked up his eyes flashed from coal to scarlet, back and forth like a dying light.

"_Vegeta!_" Goku rushed to his side, but a heavy push from the saiyan prince shoved him away.

"Get back Kakarot! Hurry up and finish the job!" he growled, furious at Goku's stalling. "I don't have much time!"

In the confusion Goku forgot all about his agreement with Vegeta. A pull inside him made him think twice; it was Vegeta – one of his oldest friends. Only when Vegeta's arms began to painfully bulge in hulking contortions did Goku act. Out of instinct he transformed; all the way up to Super Saiyan 5 with his full set of seven Dragon Balls acting as amplifiers for his energy.

Goku drew back his hands, harnessed energy and compressed it into a sphere.

"_Dragon!_" he shouted, blue light brightening the canyon. "_Kaaaaa. . ._"

Goku looked again. As Vegeta lay there, writhing in agony with his cries filling the planet, the whole situation felt wrong. Cancerous lumps moved across his body as Alpha attempted to tear him apart from the inside. He didn't have long; Goku had to double-take.

"_Kaaaaaa. . ._" he began once more. The idea of it made him ill. He knew it was necessary – even if he didn't act Vegeta would die anyway, and in a far less humane way. Goku couldn't help but feel like a vet putting a sick dog out of its misery; he never did like needles. The concept was so against his beliefs that his mouth fought against him. He couldn't bring himself to form the next syllable.

Goku released the ki and cast it aside. "I can't do it Vegeta!" he insisted.

"_Don't be a fool!_" Vegeta snarled. "What matters more to you Kakarot!? The lives of everyone in the universe or our blasted friendship!? _FIRE IT NOW!_"

With his determination renewed Goku wiped away the tears and cupped his hands back again. Vegeta wanted this more than anything – the least he could do was shut his eyes and grant the prince's last request. It wasn't his choice to make.

"_DRAGON!_" Even with eyes closed he could still see the flare of his technique shining at him, he could still feel Alpha's energy struggling free and he could still hear Vegeta's elongated war cry. Battling against his conscience, Goku decided to block out all thoughts and get it over with. The quicker the better – Vegeta had suffered long enough.

"_KAMEHAMEHA!"_

As the beam took flight Goku felt his throat choke with tears. With the energy still pouring from them his hands were those of a killer. Fearing his eyes opening, Goku turned his head away.

Then the saiyan felt a presence. Starting as a murmur on his senses the energy hurtled across the planet like a missile, homing in on their location faster than he could follow until it was right on top of them. With a start Goku recognised the energy, opening his eyes just in time to witness his failure.

_"Purge!_"

From out of Vegeta's chest thrust a glowing blade of golden ki. Looking past him Goku could just about make out Trunks, having rushed in faster than a bullet to drive his sword through his father's back. But Goku's beam neared the end of its flight. The saiyan let go, gripped by dread, but by then the Kamehameha had a mind of its own. As a bright blue pillar of incoming death the beam stayed its course.

"_VEGETA! TRUNKS! GET OUT OF THE WAY!_" he screamed.

Too late. Goku had to shield himself with energy as the explosion leapt hundreds of feet high, levelling the countryside and reducing anything inside to ashes in the blink of an eye. The shockwave brought the cliffs around him into ruin. Mountains crumbled into stony landslides behind Goku as he felt his whole world shatter into a thousand similar pieces.

When the flames died down there was nothing but smoke. The saiyan fell to his knees, then onto all fours. Punching the ground he cried. Trunks and Vegeta were blown to oblivion by his own act. He would never recover from this. The saiyan punched at the bedrock until his knuckles bled; he failed to notice it in his grief.

"_Damn it! NO!_" he cursed. "_Not again!_"

If only to add insult to injury tendrils of darkness rose from the smoke. Rising higher and higher, they eventually entered orbit and began to grow like a parasite. At first they resembled a cloud, but after ten seconds they'd grown so much that a darkness was cast over the whole planet. The saiyan knew what it was the second he saw it: Alpha.

Whatever Trunks did, he'd driven the dragon from his father's body before the beam detonated. It was over, Goku realised. Between the two of them they handed Alpha his victory on a silver platter, and with half their fighters dead there was no way to launch a counterattack.

"_Save your blubbering for after we finish him Kakarot_. _Have you lost your mind?_"

With his heart racing Goku looked back to the smoke. Twin orbs of a glowing aquamarine peered out from the shadows.

"I thought I told you to put everything you had into that attack. You're as big a fool as Alpha if you thought _that _could kill _me_."

"_Vegeta!_" cried Goku.

As the smoke drifted away the prince remained, hardly fazed having assumed his Super Saiyan 5 form. It was so long since Goku saw it – the _real _one. He stood proud and ready to fight, his fur the same blue as his casual wear. A half-dead Trunks lay on the ground behind him. It was hard to tell, but from the pose of his arms it looked like Vegeta had protected him from the blast.

"Is that really you?"

"Of course it's me you halfwit," said Vegeta. He turned around and picked up Trunks, out cold after his one final attack. Carrying him over Vegeta walked at a leisurely pace, barely paying attention to the dark miasma growing in the sky and the crazy amount of energy leaking from it like a poison. As he made his way over Goku noticed he was nursing an injury. The stab wound from his son's blade remained – apparently nothing he couldn't handle.

"Take Trunks somewhere safe," he said, handing the half-saiyan over.

"Done." In a flash Goku was gone, reappearing only a moment later without the lavender haired saiyan. A look of confusion from Vegeta forced him to respond: "I took him to Shenron's. Everyone else is over there now."

"Good. That means we can fight without worrying about anyone getting in the way." Finally Vegeta turned his eyes to the skies, weighing up the energy with a brief scan of his senses. By now the energy blanketed the entire sky; from edge to edge there was no sign of blue in any corner. Whatever Alpha's new form was, it had to be big. Even with that knowledge Vegeta didn't seem scared at all. He cracked his knuckles loudly before starting on his neck.

"Give me an update. What's the situation?"

"Well, you've been gone for a couple of months. Thought we might never see you again," started Goku.

"What about the Shadow Dragons?"

"All dead, save for him."

"Any casualties?"

"You already know Krillin, there was also Pan, Tien, Gohan, Hyperion-"

"-Can't say I'll miss him."

"-Then Uub and Vardock."

"Vardock?" Vegeta took a moment to work it out. "Oh."

"Yeah, sorry buddy."

"And how strong is this 'Alpha'?"

"Stronger than anything we've ever fought," Goku confirmed.

"Aren't they all? Might need a little more than that Kakarot."

"Well, first there was Dark Alpha, and then he was you – we kinda started calling him 'Alpha Vegeta'."

"Of course you did."

"Then there was Alpha Vegeta with all the Dragon Balls and then. . ." Goku shielded his eyes and squinted at the sky. Nothing but shifting, meandering darkness remained above them, slowly beginning to take a solid form. "What _is _that thing?"

"An easy target," said Vegeta.

"We shouldn't take him lightly. We've had like three battles with Alpha and the furthest we've got is pinning him down."

The prince grinned as he finally decided to drop into stance. "Maybe so, but has he ever come up against _our _combined power before?"

Goku looked confused. "Of course not silly! You've been away all this time!"

". . ."

Rather than lecturing Goku on rhetorical statements Vegeta instead turned his gaze upwards; Alpha's transformation was nearing its completion.

Shadows hardened into plate, dusky black and green in random sections, with each scale as enormous as a small country in Earth terms. A single scarlet eye filled a whole quadrant of the sky; his teeth sharp and white formed a zigzag pattern at a second glance – enormous fault lines between his teeth big enough to fly a spaceship through. The creature's size was beyond any legend Vegeta knew of. Its arms were small and spindly compared to its long, powerful body, yet in the palm of its hand it could've held the Earth itself like a tennis ball.

Right then Goku and Vegeta wondered how they might fight such a being. Alpha was now so titanic – so gargantuan in size and energy that even attempting to bring him down looked like a suicide mission. The prospect excited the two saiyans. Alpha had transformed into a dragon, capable of devouring stars in one bite and destroying worlds with a lazy swat of his claws – the perfect challenge for a warrior.

Having lost the ability to speak the dragon roared a thunderous howl down on the two saiyans. Covering their faces, Goku and Vegeta rode out the hurricane as their hair whipped back in the wind. When Alpha finished his shout neither looked impressed.

"And then there was huge dragon Alpha!" finished Goku.

"That's a new one."

"Uhh, Vegeta? You know what's about to happen right?"

"I'm well aware Kakarot."

"Here." From his back pocket Goku produced one of Bulma's machines. He tossed it over to Vegeta. "How'd you plan on fighting him without one?"

Strapping it on, Vegeta punched a few buttons and felt the gadget hum to life. "I was going to steal yours," he said.

"Harsh."

Upon seeing the indifference of Goku and Vegeta the dragon decided to act. A shadow spread across the planet as Alpha pitched back an arm for a swing at the planet. Being so massive and far away however, both saiyans knew it might take a few seconds for him to hit them.

"Neither of us dies this time. Agreed?" said Vegeta. "It's too much hassle coming back whenever this happens – and we still need to see who's stronger between us."

"Speak for yourself! A minute ago you couldn't wait to jump back in the grave!"

The prince shook his head. "Things are different now. We have a chance to strike back."

"You're right," said Goku. "It's strange; now he's more powerful than ever, but I've never felt like we can actually win until now."

Vegeta agreed as the shadow darkened over them. A planet-sized nail suddenly crashed down through the clouds – a solid white obelisk made for flattening them beneath its weight. Behind it the eye of the dragon gleamed, craving their destruction as it roared a primal sound once again – a noise that echoed across the whole universe.

The two saiyans prepared for war.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Heya guys! I imagine there's some serious WTFs going around as to why I decided to write those two flashback sections at the beginning, but telling you all is basically giving away a spoiler – it'll make sense soon enough. Also since a lot of people just watch Dragon Ball Z and nothing else I imagine some of you guys never got to see that first Krillin death, which I always felt was vital to the show.

If it seems a little comedy-heavy in some parts I apologise. Been thinking up a lot of funny little Goku/Vegeta exchanges that I'll never be able to write again, even if it kills the mood. I know it's standard in Dragon Ball (and subsequently every shonen ever) for the characters to be stuck in frozen dread when a villain powers up, but these guys have done it all before – and I've _written _it all a hundred times before - kinda wanted something new for the finale.

Plus I thought it would be good for Goku. He's been going through a lot of anxiety and insecurities in this arc because everyone around him is dying, he's too far away to stop it and he's not strong enough on his own to really challenge the villain. All those feelings vanish the moment Vegeta returns - he's basically come full circle in his development.

As for Vegeta's comeback, anyone remember what happened to Demon King Piccolo? It was a while ago, but Hyperion basically used this _Purge _attack on our favourite namekian, and since then Piccolo has been fine and dandy. Since Alpha isn't permanently fused to Vegeta (like DKP is to Piccolo) Trunks managed to completely exorcise him. And that's the real story of why Alpha was scared of Hyperion's sword. Neat huh?


	36. Chapter 36 Dragon Inbound

Chapter 36: Dragon Inbound

At Goku's command the two saiyans took off in separate directions. Vegeta banked off to the left and Goku swerved right as the claw of the dragon rent the planet's crust. Beneath them fault lines appeared in the myriad of different terrains, breaking off sections of the ground to tilt up and away from Alpha's obelisk of a nail. To Goku they looked they looked like a fleet of ships trapped in a sudden typhoon. Looking around he saw all three claws bearing down to take a chunk from the planet; behind him the second toppled the forests and desert and up ahead the third ripped apart the sea.

Around them the air quaked as parts of the broken land started to float skyward; the planet was losing its atmosphere. Goku felt his stomach turn as they dropped into zero gravity. Alpha's claw was the figurative spoon on the crown of the boiled egg that was his world. By smashing off the outer layer he exposed the centre, the yolk of molten lava bubbling to the surface beneath them, devouring whatever segments of land failed to rise.

Flying was made difficult here. With the air itself turning around him Goku released his ki and dropped to the largest floating island he could see. As Alpha retracted his claw and roared once again the saiyan spied Vegeta across from him, adopting the same idea; he descended to the spinning debris of the dead planet and charged crimson power into his palms. Goku took to his stance.

"_Dragon Kamehameha!_"

"_Crimson Oblivion!_"

Blue and red beams smashed into either side of Alpha's nail to sandwich it in a colourful explosion. The bone was harder than concrete though; only a black scorch remained where Goku blasted it, big enough to darken a billboard – a size relatively puny in comparison. Cursing to himself, Goku quickly found he had to vacate his new locale as a fountain of lava hit the undercarriage of his floating isle. He took flight again before the fire could envelop his boots.

Zigzagging through the broken continents Goku continued his path upwards – straight towards the titanic dragon looming overhead. They were at a disadvantage here; Alpha was keeping them grounded on this dying planet so they could perish along with it. Caught between the behemoth himself and the exploding core of Alpha's nameless world, Goku preferred his chances against the dragon.

Left and right the saiyan swerved, just narrowly missing the tumbling rocks and geysers of lava before an island too big to dodge came rushing towards him. With a jet of golden energy Goku punched a man-sized hole right through the centre and rocketed through. Above him, what he first mistook for a cloud turned out to be Alpha's second hand, streaming into view on a course straight towards him. The saiyan sent more power to his flight and shifted up in speed, corkscrewing between the gap of two enormous nails and straight into the path of a crumbling landmass caught in Alpha's swipe.

Rocks bigger than Goku's head rained down in their thousands. For a good few seconds the air above him was a sandstorm of meteors sharper than blades. His Kamehameha cut a line straight through them, only to be immediately filled by the immense number inhabiting the storm.

The saiyan's rescue came in the form of Vegeta. A Final Flash cleared the path before the prince himself swooped in and speared Goku away from the giant comet that followed. The two touched down on the closest rock in view, wondering how to proceed. By now they'd flown all the way up to the clouds; the mist around them might stay Alpha's attacks for a moment.

"How did he get that big!?" cried Goku.

"He isn't condensing his energy – what you're looking at is what happens when you let your power run amok. Alpha has no fixed physical form, so it's easy for him to make something like that," said Vegeta.

"So then how are we supposed beat him?"

The saiyan prince flashed a smirk and raised a fist to encourage him. "Use your senses Kakarot – he isn't _that _much more powerful than he was. And a bigger body only means a bigger target; his weak points won't be hard to miss."

"Ahhh. _Look out!_"

An incoming presence forced both fighters to jump off the island and fall back into flight. Drooling white teeth – too many to count – appeared then from the safety of cloud cover to devour their temporary haven.

Looking up Goku and Vegeta got a good look at the face of the dragon, occupying the entire sky before their eyes as the top of its head and lower jaw were both too far away to see. Shimmering scales of jet black and occasional jade painted patterns running all the way down it. Its maw, elongated like an alligator's, dripped with an acidic saliva that fizzled land into steam. Its eye was by far the most noticeable of all though; towering and demonic, the blood red sphere glowed with an insatiable hunger.

"Vegeta! Quick! Blast his eye!"

In a heartbeat Vegeta understood. Side by side their auras flared into a spectral maelstrom, violet at the centre where their colours met. Goku cupped back his hands. Vegeta pushed them out before him.

"_Dragon. . ._"

"_Crimson. . ._"

Alpha stopped in his tracks. Goku could've sworn it looked at him then, frozen as it realised their less than honourable intentions.

"_KAMEHAMEHA!_"

"_OBLIVION!_"

Twin streams of red and blue light struck the dragon at his most obvious weak spot. A roar escaped him as black shadow cried from the steaming wound they inflicted. The reptilian reared his head back like a coiling snake, immediately escaping their range by fleeing into orbit. They wouldn't get another chance until they escaped the planet – he wasn't stupid enough to try that one again.

"Not bad Kakarot. Who taught you that one?" laughed Vegeta.

"You did! Don't you remember our first fight on Earth?" said Goku. "I used it when you transformed."

"I have no memory of that whatsoever."

"Liar!"

A pale violet glow from above told them they had other concerns. Goku recognised the light and feeling; it was a polar opposite to that of his positively charged Dragon Balls. Before he could warn Vegeta the hail began again. Purple pillars shot down from orbit, fast and sharp as explosive javelins – and always six or seven falling at once.

It took them a few seconds to realise that Alpha's targets were not the two of them. Instead he speared his Dragon Ball jets through the clusters of land that sustained them in their assault. By destroying their footholds he reduced their chances with every scatter of rubble he made.

Eventually one caught Vegeta. Flattening him beneath its weight the enormous purple cannon gored the saiyan right out of the air. Turning, Goku witnessed the bolt shoot him right back down to ground level; to where an ocean of molten lava hissed and bubbled like a well heated cauldron.

"Vegeta!" Just as he screamed his arch-rival's name the saiyan felt another glimmer of a presence behind him, and before he knew it that very same attack slammed hard into his back. Faster than he'd ever fallen before Goku was thrown towards the surface, his spine burning as the ki from the beam set his fur ablaze.

Before he hit the ground the saiyan managed to fight it, turning himself so that his stomach faced the light; from there a powerful knee was enough to send it swerving away.

Goku glanced around. Sparks meandered in a windswept mist like a thousand fireflies in swarms surrounding him. The air stung his eyes and made them water, for three yards beneath his feet the hellish pit of a dying world lay in wait to consume him. On the waves of raging lava broken fragments of the planet acted as slowly melting driftwood. Through the heat waves and spits of flame Goku spied Vegeta, standing atop one with his blue aura flared to engulf it completely. Following the beacon, Goku homed in and touched down beside him.

"Alright, so maybe he's not all show," decided Vegeta, turning to see witness the sea around them. "Any idea how we take him down? Surely you can get us up there with that teleport of yours?"

Goku shrugged. "Maybe, but I stopped using Instant Transmission to attack him. I'm vulnerable when it activates – and he's caught me a few times. It _might_ work – but then it'll probably lead us to certain death. Might wanna hold off on that one."

The prince cursed, clenching a fist. "There _has _to be a way to get him."

"Well. . ." The saiyan put a hand to his chin and looked up as he searched for an answer. Concentrating so hard seemed like an ordeal for him; the look of strain and effort was beyond anything Vegeta knew. After a few seconds his tensing brow rose upward in surprise. Goku pointed to the clouds in fear. Before Vegeta even turned he sensed something amiss, as around them the darkened red haze of his master technique blanketed the land.

Looking up he saw it – the sky was falling. In a crimson sheet of unrestrained power the red filled every corner of the air as far as he could see, slowly descending as the final curtain on their adventure. The size and texture was too great to believe it, though Vegeta's wits told him it was a beam – his own technique given the godly power of seven corrupted Dragon Balls. It made sense after all; with Alpha so huge, any beam he expelled from his mouth would be big enough to swallow the Earth five times over.

After the surprise attack on his eye the Shadow Dragon appeared to grow impatient. Clearly his intentions were to obliterate them along with the rest of his planet, leaving only the portal where a world once stood.

Together the two saiyans hopped off their sinking boulder and floated a short ways upward. They each readied a fist, keeping one eye trained on Alpha's falling judgement and the other trained on the man next to them. When the beam roared down upon them Goku and Vegeta's moves were as one. Two right hands, charged to the brim with Super Saiyan energy, punched against the crimson ceiling above their heads.

Fists plunged into the vortex as Goku and Vegeta felt their knuckles stung by raw power. Charging more energy, the pair pushed and shouted their loudest until the roof began to recede. From there some beams of their own helped Alpha's copied technique on its way. The red dawn fled back into the void of space, returning to planet to its previous state of hell.

The two saiyans remained unscathed, but in the aftermath of such effort the prince doubled over. He clutched the bleeding gash in his chest where Trunks's sword set him free.

"We can't repel another one of those Kakarot!" Vegeta turned to his friend. "If you're going to do something now would be a good time!"

Goku nodded. An idea _did _spring to mind. It was risky, but probably the only option they had. "Alright then, hold onto me – better make it tight or you'll fall off."

"_What?_" The prince's face went stone-dead.

"Don't be like that! Just here should do," said Goku, turning around and motioning to his shoulder.

Reluctantly Vegeta hovered over to place his hand there, vowing to break the saiyan's shoulder if he did anything foolish. Standing behind him, he kept at arm's length at all times, as if just being near the man was likely to infect him with a sudden case of stupidity. Vegeta figured his caution justified when Goku revealed his intentions.

The saiyan prince could only watch as Goku lit up the volcanic wastes with a single syllable, arching his body towards the inferno.

"_Kaaaaa. . ._"

"Kakarot, what are you planning?"

"_Maaaaayyyyy_. . ."

Vegeta growled in irritancy as Goku ignored him to carry on the chant his technique demanded. He looked down again; surely he'd would only kill them both by finishing off the planet – wouldn't he?

"_Haaaaaa. . ._"

Azure spilled across the ocean of fire as high above Vegeta noticed Alpha rake his claws forward for another move. He'd clocked on to their intentions, knowing now thanks to Goku's beam that they'd survived his first round of apocalypse.

"_MAAAAAYYYYY. . ._"

Not enough time; Vegeta redoubled his grip on Goku's shoulder and pressed his side against the man's back. Now was no time to be pedantic – if Goku took off without him he'd be left here to die. Setting his sights on Alpha, Vegeta closed his eyes and hoped his comrade knew what he was doing.

"_HHAAAAAAAAAAAA!_"

Faster than any flight the duo took off like a missile. As the beam hit the molten waves Goku kept his energy output at a constant, forming a continuous stream of ki that propelled both he and Vegeta skyward in a surge of blue. Using the beam as a jetpack the saiyans hurtled back into the labyrinth of floating continents; asteroid fields passed them by in a blur. Very soon Goku and Vegeta found their clothes drenched once again by their second rise through cloud cover.

"Easily your best idea to date Kakarot!" Vegeta called through over the wind's howl.

"Well the planet's done for already!" reasoned Goku. "Watch up ahead! We're not out of this yet!"

Vegeta understood already why he'd been asked to stand behind him. With Goku blasting downward Vegeta was given the task of looking right into the incoming storm of rocks above, some as big as moons with others shard-like and easy to miss. Up in the stratosphere Alpha's claw wiped out another cluster of land, forming a shower of fist-sized comets to descend over the two of them.

With only one hand free Vegeta blasted left and right like a madman, altering his techniques to see them safely through the sky. Smaller mists could be dealt with by a Final Flash, larger collections were left to the wide radius of his Hellzone Grenade and those too big to finish in ki were smashed to pieces by a well-timed right hook.

Goku's prolonged beam managed to rocket the pair right out of Alpha's world and onto an open plain. As light from the planet's atmosphere vanished they were plunged into the darkness of space. Goku released his technique and span to join Vegeta, their speed and lack of traction meaning they rocketed up to the face of their enemy.

With the void as his only backdrop the saiyans finally got a full, unhindered look at the creature Alpha became; black and green in diamond-hard scales and red where his bloodthirsty eyes watched them. Hurtling closer and closer with each passing moment they slowly came to an understanding of just how massive he was. His long, wyvern-like body could've coiled itself around the Earth's solar system, a length far greater than that of Snake Way.

Of course, Goku remembered it taking him a mere day the last time he tried Snake Way. He grinned, wondering how long it would take him now.

"Kakarot! Give me a boost."

"Right!" Placing his hands beneath Vegeta's boot, Goku brought up his arms with all the strength he owned to give the saiyan a leg-up. In a fraction of a second Vegeta was out of sight, flying a world's length past the nose of the dragon before touching down on the bridge between his eyes. Goku meanwhile stayed to challenge the creature's mouth, hardly flinching even as it roared and made a lunge for him.

As the dragon moved beneath his feet Vegeta put the orange saiyan out of his mind and started to run. With both hands aflame he blasted twin tracks beside him as he geared to a sprint. On either side of him Alpha's scales exploded in blue flames; the saiyan prince left behind a highway of fire, smoke and shadow. Before long he reached his top speed, dashing down the decline of the bumpy road and hitting his stride as the saiyan hit a hill.

"_Dragon Fist!_"

It was a blur to Vegeta, taking him moments to realise it, but as he raced past the halfway point something burst from the dragon's scales like a mole springing free of the ground – only with the gold visage of Shenron to propel him upward. With every footfall Vegeta continued to bomb the green tiles at his feet, wondering the whole time whether he was doing any damage at all. Behind him he felt Goku join in the fight, covering him from the air with a second barrage of energy globes.

Reaching the flick of the dragon's tail the two saiyans leapt off again and into flight, turning only when they'd travelled a safe distance to channel energy and launch a simultaneous blast against the dragon.

"_Dragon Kamehameha!_"

"_Crimson Oblivion!_"

Together the beams rocketed through space and struck the dragon's jaw. Alpha recoiled, his head breaking a moon with the involuntary movement as a shadowy mist began to envelop his wounds. Darkness quilted the length of his back until it obscured any injury. In mere seconds the only proof of their moves ever hitting him was a single snapped fang from Goku's Kamehameha; the dragon had thousands to spare.

"He just keeps regenerating!" Vegeta cursed. "How are we supposed to obliterate something that big?"

"If energy won't work we'll just have to use fists!" resolved Goku.

Liking the idea, Vegeta set off after the saiyan as the two dived into aerial manoeuvres. In a double helix they spiralled around each other in their approach, leaving dizzying tracks of blue and orange behind them until the eyes of the dragon could no longer follow their movements. Rearing his body like a serpent in defence, Alpha swiped out a claw the moment they got close enough.

The attack was a hopeful one; Goku and Vegeta knew it the moment he threw it. Neither saiyan altered their course, twirling around the behemoth of a talon before closing in on the dragon with another burst of ki. White-hot with the Royal Assault Vegeta's fists pummelled its exposed belly; dentures the size of houses sprang up with every impact of his thousand blows, and when Alpha's head lowered in defeat Goku was there to slam the haymaker of the Dragon Fist to its face.

The creature howled again, the noise so sudden and loud that it managed to knock both fighters back a ways and throw them off balance. Only then did his claws come back for another swing. Rising into a long flip Vegeta managed to evade the planet-sized appendage trying to wipe him out, yet his focus on one attack blinded him to the dragon's second hand.

As he turned the prince realised quickly that it was too late. Looking up, Alpha's claw – enormous as the sun – began to close around him, draining all light until only rays of a nearby star system remained through the cracks.

"_Vegeta!_"

Before he could warn him against it Goku streamed into the opening. With two open palms he slammed the prince's back, channelling ki into a shockwave to send him flying into space and away from the dragon's clutches.

Dazed and confused, Vegeta winked his eyes back open just in time to see Alpha's claw shut around the motionless orange saiyan – the blasted selfless fool. Instinctually he flipped back into stance, pressed out his palms and summoned the crimson ki.

"_CRIMS-_" Vegeta paused; once again Alpha's right arm rose up towards him, blocking his attempt to blast Goku free. Shooting his energy upward Vegeta plummeted down into open space, dodging the move and finding himself a better position to launch his beam. Unfortunately a much bigger limb came at him this time. Alpha swung his entire body, his tail like the whip of a god cracking forward to meet the vulnerable saiyan.

Caught mid-blast, Vegeta found himself thrown farther than he'd ever flown before through the empty void of space, bruised and aching head to toe until at last he was stopped by something hard slamming against his back. It was another moon. Groaning back to his feet, the saiyan freed himself from the six metre Vegeta-sized crater he'd pounded into the rock and observed from a distance.

Alpha brought his left hand to his mouth – the very same that Goku lay trapped inside. The unrivalled signal of pure saiyan energy told Vegeta he was still alive, although all that would change if Alpha got his way. The dragon opened its jaws, momentarily stretching them to a fearsome, near-straight line angle like a snake about to devour its prey.

Only then did the Crimson Oblivion materialise – or Alpha's twisted version of it anyway. A vortex of red power began to grow above his forked tongue, sucking in particles of negative energy by the second until the ball resembled an exploding star. Vegeta clenched a fist; he had to do something. If Goku faced that thing alone he'd die for sure. There had to be _some _way to disrupt him.

* * *

Alone Goku was trapped to the confines of pitch darkness as the walls of Alpha's scales got closer than he'd like to crushing him flat. He pounded on them three times with the Dragon Fist before returning to the Kamehameha. The light they gave off showed little save for burns to mark his efforts. The Dragon Kamehameha cracked a few scales, but it was nothing a miasma of shadow didn't fix in a heartbeat.

_Goku! Goku can you hear me?_

With his ears ringing Goku switched himself on to the telepathic voice trying to contact him. The voice and energy were both all too familiar. _Hey Kibito-Kai_, he answered._ I'm kind of in the middle of something right now, can it wait?_

_ No it can't wait! You have to get back to Shenron's place right away. I don't have enough energy for the jump back, so we're flying over to Alpha's portal as we speak._

_Awww_, moaned the saiyan. _But I wanted to see if we could beat this guy! We might not get another chance like this!_

_You can't kill that thing Goku! _insisted the Kai. _Just get to Shenron's!_

Above him the saiyan suddenly noticed light for the first time in minutes. A crack appeared between the plate-armoured fingers of Alpha's clutch, growing and growing until the full picture came into view. Suddenly Goku realised he was looking into that same raging torrent of impossible ki that assaulted them before – a horrific reimagining on Vegeta's Crimson Oblivion on a multi-planetary scale.

_Gotta go_, said Goku. _If I don't make it back. . . Well I imagine you're about to see why. _

As the ancient overseer began to protest the saiyan severed the telepathic connection, focusing all his attention on the atomic strike about to fall down upon him. If he warped to Shenron's here and now Alpha would simply turn the beam on Vegeta. Goku shook his head; he couldn't let that happen – not after it took them so long to get here. The only thing to do was to face it head on, hoping his momentum and energy could help him cut a path through it.

With a war-cry and a sudden charge of saiyan energy Goku bolted for the opening far above him – a spot worlds away where a glowing crimson dawn lay in wait to finish him off. The saiyan screamed into his flight and threw out a single fist before him, streamlining himself in the hope that he could penetrate Alpha's ultimate attack with an arrow-shaped body.

In the end he never found out how the drama would've played. Instead Goku's surroundings began to tremor as a sudden bang like a spontaneous earthquake rocked the dragon to its core. In his flinching Alpha released the energy too early and off-target, vomiting the pillar of crimson ki towards the farthest reaches of farspace. As he left the snare of the dragon's hold Goku found himself none the wiser as to what just happened.

Greyish, boring rocks fell in an avalanche from the dragon's head and cascaded around them in freefall. Carrying on his charge, Goku travelled up and up until he found himself right beneath the screaming beast, finishing his flight with a spinning uppercut straight to the neck.

As the dragon shot back again the saiyan's eyes flashed around the storm of rocks for any sign of Vegeta. Instead the prince found him. From a falling fragment of the broken moon Vegeta zipped back into space, hovering beside Goku within a moment of charging his energy.

"Sure showed him!" said Goku, watching as the creature recoiled.

"Stay alert," warned Vegeta. "This fight isn't over yet."

As if on cue Alpha decided to try his most powerful technique a third and final time. The crimson nebula whirred to life in the basin of his yawning maw. Vegeta dropped into stance, preparing to move at the slightest provocation. Goku meanwhile had other ideas; he slapped a hand on the prince's shoulder and pressed two fingers to his forehead, channelling energy for a dimensional warp. Before Vegeta could tell him otherwise they were spinning through the fragile precipice separating worlds.

The effect was so dizzying Vegeta nearly fell the moment they touched down. Holding out a hand, the saiyan steadied himself for a moment before drawing back to full height and looking around.

He'd been here only once before – on the eve of their last assault on the dark spire of the Vices; Goku had shown up when they needed him most and zapped them all to safety before Chronus and his most powerful lackeys could close in for the kill. This was Shenron's dimension, the last safe haven in the universe.

"Hold on a minute Kakarot," he said. "Why are we here? Don't tell me you're scared?"

"Relax, Kibito-Kai told me to wait at Shenron's. Everyone's on their way over – Alpha included. I think we're supposed to make our last stand here."

Grumbling, Vegeta accepted and glanced around. It looked different now than it was before. Six craters, varying in size, covered the floor like dug up plants – scars of Z-fighters powering up. One in particular dwarfed the rest; Goku's no doubt. At the centre of the room a swirling portal spanned from floor to ceiling. Guarding the open hole, three friends sat resting beside it: Goten, Trunks and Raditz turned to see their family members return.

"Dad!"

As Goten ran into his chest Goku felt his wounds flare up from the sudden impact. Wincing, the saiyan did his best to look tough before noticing Trunks. Not half an hour ago the lavender-haired saiyan was a collapsed heap in his father's arms. Now he looked better than ever. His shiny new sword was missing – replaced by his old one – but the steady pulse of his energy reading said he was ready to fight.

"Trunks? You look. . . Better," said Goku.

"Yup. Seems our favourite cat decided to pay my mom a visit," answered Trunks.

_Favourite cat? _Goku scratched his head. "Puar?"

"No dad, the other one!" said Goten.

Raditz rummaged around in his side pocket before pulling out a jingling bag of beans. "These should work unless you took another direct hit."

"Oh right, Korin! Of course!" said Goku.

With Senzu beans at the ready the two saiyans each gobbled one down as fast as they could. From a red and purple exterior Goku's skin immediately began to fade to its usual pink; he felt his chest and biceps bulge with the fullness of his maximum power as his hair bounced back to its wicked array, blue bolts dancing around him. Vegeta's wounds were fewer, but far more damaging. In an instant the stab wound through his torso closed itself shut as every iota of his strength returned to him.

Strangely enough, the broad, ugly scar stretching from his shoulder to hipbone remained. He was about to ask who landed such a blow before the excitable Goku went back to his jabbering.

"What did you _do_ back there?" he said, turning to Vegeta. "He was about to kill me just now!"

"It was nothing." The saiyan crossed his arms. "He wouldn't release you, so I threw a moon at him."

"Nice. We're going to have to think up a name for that one."

"Think it up yourself."

"Well maybe I will!"

Before a second rematch could begin the hall began to shake. Tiles of slate from the roof fell like snow as the room tilted back and forth like a bad theme park ride. Expending their energy the fighters managed to stay afloat, slowly backing off from the writhing wormhole at the centre of the room.

Alpha's portal grew in size by the kilometre. In half a second it smashed through the roof of Shenron's domain and began to expand high into the air. Less than a minute had passed before no Z-Fighter present could make out the top. It didn't take a genius to work out why. As the world quaked and crumbled apart Goku realised it was to accommodate his enormous new form; there was no way he could fit through its previous state.

"It should be big enough now right!?" cried Goten, watching as it summoned forth green thunder, casting a tempest over the whole dimension.

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Vegeta.

A familiar energy signal behind him made the saiyan prince lurch in fright. He spun around to face the back of the hall, finding to his dismay that his wife had arrived.

Bulma clung to one of the slanted doors, looking on with tears in her eyes. Three years, he realised then – three years without even seeing her face. It occurred to Vegeta then that he'd never fully appreciated just how much he missed her, but now wasn't the time for reunions. She squealed in fright as a chunk of the roof came down just inches from her nose, heavy enough to squash her flat if she'd come any closer. Humans were so fragile. Vegeta knew he had to get her away.

"_Go!_" he called to her. "We've got this under control. Get yourself and everyone you can gather to safety!"

Without a word Bulma nodded. She wiped her tears away and immediately adopted her game-face; she had a job to do. While everyone else was out fighting Bulma knew she couldn't sit idle and wait to die. She disappeared back into the corridors as the tiles of the ceiling began to fall like rain.

When a chunk of rebar came down on Raditz's head Trunks drew his old sword and traced it in a circle, leaving wisps of a silvery light from the tip of the blade.

"_Echo Force: Expand!_"

Trunks's dome fanned out to a ten metre radius, translucent and reflective for anything that grazed the surface. Covering all five of them weakened it significantly, but the Echo Force remained more than powerful enough to repel falling debris. Without having to worry about the rocks above them the Z-Fighters could sit and watch as the portal continued to widen.

Eventually something small and weak streamed out of the opening. All five fighters fell into respective poses before Goku halted them with a hand, recognising the signal as Kibito-Kai. The overseer travelled down to meet them; Trunks disengaged his technique for a moment to let him through. The Supreme Kai looked beat, but save for some shaky knees from high-gravity exposure he was largely unhurt.

"Prepare yourselves!" he told them. "Alpha was right behind us when we-. . ." The Kai trailed off, glancing around frantically like he'd lost a wallet or his keys. It was something far more important. "Piccolo," he asked them. "Where's Piccolo!?"

The Z-Fighters looked around; there was no sign of the namekian.

"He was right there when we-!"

In answer to his protests Piccolo's scream suddenly echoed through the wormhole. Crashes boomed from the portal in violent tremors and wayward bolts of energy leapt from the membrane. Alpha roared and the namekian roared louder, his guttural snarl filling the dimension. No one could make out the fight, but from the raw power and painful sounds coming from the border the saiyans could only imagine it to be hell.

Goku set off, finding only a hand on his tail pulling him away. Kibito-Kai jerked him back to the ground.

"Don't! That portal is fragile at best! You'll collapse it if you act recklessly."

"So we leave him!? Is that it!?" snapped Raditz.

"I-" The overseer paused. "I don't know, just let me think!"

"Well while you '_think'_ the namek dies," said Vegeta. "So how about you contribute or shut your mouth?"

"No! You can't!"

"_SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!_"

A vivid shine of purple and gold suddenly flared from the dimensional window, heaven's light made reality. Pieces of the complex headed towards them in a hurricane and Trunks's barrier snapped back into focus to protect them. Shielding themselves from the blinding light, all five saiyans could only stand there and pray as energy unlike anything they'd ever felt from Piccolo raged within the portal.

When all was done silence fell. The wormhole remained, soundless and swirling, but the quaking stopped. Alpha's foul energy receded back into the portal; for a moment the skies looked calm again.

Then, like a thrown rock smashing through a window, a figure emerged from the portal. Piccolo fell from cloud-height, charred and broken before he even hit the ground. There was nothing from him, his energy reading that of an amateur's after spending up so much power. The namekian had truly seen better days; an arm and a leg had both been severed, his skin was stripped from his flesh in bloody purple streaks and he'd turned a darker shade of green from Alpha's attack. Fist-sized holes punctured his torso and his body smoked like a barbequed slab of meat. Goku wondered how anyone could still be alive after all that, but Piccolo was nothing if not resilient.

The namekian's eyes blinked open – one cracked and bloodshot from his overload of power. He tried to speak, finding nothing but a mouthful of blood.

"Senzu bean!" Goku realised. "Quick Raditz, give him a Senzu bean!"

"It's no use Goku," muttered Piccolo, finally finding his words. "My insides are fried – I'm not regenerating. . . It's over for me."

Before he could tell himself to stop Goku felt a single tear rush down each cheek. He shook his head as Raditz knelt beside him, urging the green man to take the bean. Piccolo only waved it away.

"I managed to get him good though; should've bought you a minute or two with that one." The namekian glanced to the two saiyans stood over him – his oldest friend and newest student, both struggling to hold back the waterworks as he neared the end of his life once again. "Relax you two. This is nothing new – hopefully I'll end up somewhere better this time around," he assured them.

At last Piccolo glimpsed the saiyan prince, standing half-turned in quiet respect for the dying warrior.

"Vegeta – is that really you?" he asked.

Vegeta nodded. "Yes Piccolo, it's me."

In one of the most bizarre final moments they'd ever seen the namekian started a low chuckle, growing by the moment until it became one of the heartiest laughs they'd ever heard from the solitary fighter. Goku squeezed his shoulder and tried to shake him back to sanity – he didn't get the joke.

"What's so funny Piccolo!? Save your laughing until we get you safe!"

Piccolo sighed, his voice growing weaker as his life force began to fade. "Sorry Goku. . . Guess I'm not meant for this world after all."

"Quit talking like that!"

"It's alright guys, I know I can leave the rest to you." Arching his back, the namekian turned into Goku's arms, using all the strength he could muster to bring over his fist and rest it in the palm of the saiyan's hand. "We've won. . ." was his final whisper to the group.

Goku froze in dread, taking a moment to absorb the shock of the situation as the Piccolo's body relaxed in his grip. When his claws pried open it took the saiyan a few seconds to realise he'd dropped something into his hand – a parting gift and a chance at victory. Goku brought them up to his face to inspect them: two rings jingled atop his palm, one topped with stunning orange amethyst, the other with a shimmering sapphire. Closing his fist around them, Goku laid his comrade to rest and got to his feet.

"_No one else dies today,_" he decided then.

The others nodded, muttering words of agreement.

The shaking of Alpha's approach suddenly threw five of them off balance. Only Goku remained, striding towards the wormhole with a new purpose in mind. Everything was clear to him now. In his mind he saw the steps they'd take to win. Alpha was coming – and this time there was no Piccolo to slow him down. With his portal complete they became the last obstacles separating him from destroying humanity. He was on his way to end them once and for all.

"Everyone get behind me!" ordered Goku.

In silent compliance the remaining warriors retreated six steps. Only Vegeta remained, taking his position beside the saiyan as the two faced the endless vacuum towering to the ends of the sky – an obelisk of impossible proportions.

"I don't take orders from you, Kakarot," said Vegeta.

"I was counting on it. Here." With a flick of his wrist Goku produced the two rings, delving into the explanation he made sure to commit to memory. "Now," he began. "Trunks and Goten have been using these for weeks – it's a much simpler than the old ways. You just hit the rings together and at the exact same time you both s-"

"-Wait, wait – hold on a minute Kakarot." Vegeta shook his head. "This had better not be another fusion method! Two was bad enough. We're _warriors_; we should be able to fight without resorting to these humiliating performa_-_"

"-_It's this or the dance Vegeta!_" insisted Goku.

"Just. . ." The prince froze. Even as the world around them shook like the eye of a tumble-drier Vegeta still took the time out to think it over. Goku could see him go through the motions, seriously considering his options before finally sighing in dejection. When he spoke Goku only heard contempt. "Just throw me the damn ring Kakarot."

"_YES!_" The saiyan pumped a fist of victory and tossed Vegeta the blue ring. He slipped the orange onto his finger and the prince followed suit, grumbling as he wrestled it on.

"Alright so what now?"

"You need physical contact with both rings – and at the same time you just shout 'fusion'. Hmm. . ." Goku furrowed his eyebrows and placed a hand under his chin, deep in thought. "Well, I think our dads used a handshake. . . Trunks and Goten used a fist-bump."

The saiyan prince went blank. "A fist-bump?"

"Exactly. So how about. . ." Goku held out his hand as high as he could reach it, grinning as he did so. "Up top!" he said.

"You've got be joking."

"Nope!"

"Hmph, have it your way Kakarot." Vegeta managed a smirk, betraying the workings of an evil plan.

"_GUYS!_" cried Raditz.

Sparing a glance for the portal, Goku realised what got his brother so rattled. Like a boat being shipwrecked the start of Alpha's head emerged through the tear between dimensions, skidding towards them as the room began to collapse entirely. Behind them Trunks intensified the Echo Force; debris fell like rain, but neither saiyan seemed to notice.

Looking back, Goku noticed Vegeta taking ten steps in retreat. He limbered up his arm with rotations of his shoulder, letting fly a few practice punches for good measure.

"Hey that's not fair! You can't take a run-up!" Goku moaned, his ring-hand left hanging in the air.

"Why not? You insisted on this didn't you?" said Vegeta. "This way, if it doesn't work and we're made to look like fools I'll be sure to take your hand clean off for humiliating me."

"Have a little faith! It'll work alright!?"

"_Would you hurry up and fuse already!?_" screamed the Kai, painfully aware of the giant dragon racing towards them.

"Aright! Geez! Do your worst Vegeta!"

"With pleasure Kakarot."

Goku winced, preparing himself for the worst as the prince channelled energy and sent it to his feet. Vegeta's run was an athlete's charge; a practiced sprint faster than the gunshot with enough power behind his arm to slap a planet out of orbit.

With the slight height difference between them Vegeta had to jump at the last few yards, propelling himself even faster in order to reach up and throw his supersonic high-five. Their palms collided with a metallic clang as light poured from the clash between the rings.

"_FUSION!_"

In an instant the saiyans were obscured, their forms merging together to form a single white silhouette, features hidden by celestial light in the same way Alpha concealed his in shadow. Bolts of blue thunder crashed to the ground by his feet and a golden aura served as his mantle.

Before the fusion could fully form the dragon careered into the tiny figure. A rumble filled the air as the land shook more violently than ever, throwing the Z-Fighters off their feet once again before total stillness claimed the domain. The saiyans scrambled back up to meet their saviour.

Without budging an inch the white-shrouded fusion had thrown out a hand to the jaw of the dragon. There was no recoil – no visible sign of effort – he'd stopped the colossal creature dead in its tracks; all those solar systems' worth of weight held fast under the power of a single arm.

Sensing his failure, Alpha's mouth opened wide once more. Crimson blanketed Shenron's dimension for half a moment before the new fighter intervened. In a flash he materialised atop the dragon's nose, his heel coming down with a force so powerful that Alpha's jaw snapped shut with a teeth-shattering crash. Black smoke spluttered from the gaps in his fangs; he swallowed his own attack, leaving the Crimson Oblivion to detonate right where he least expected it.

As the creature writhed in apparent agony the illuminated fusion touched down. Finally the light began to subside, putting his features on full display.

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: I just keep topping myself with these cliff-hangers don't I? That has to be one of my worst ones, but wait! There's a reason for this one - and it's for your benefit!

So there's the issue to resolve of this character's name, and I want you guys to be the ones to decide it. You see, since this is technically a third form of fusion, and Goku and Vegeta's other ones have different names (Gogeta and Vegito) it makes sense for this one to have his own name too. So for a while I've been toying with the name Gogito. See what I did there?

_However _I know that a lot of people love Gogeta and were expecting him to make an appearance, so I've been taking that into consideration as well. Regardless of his name this guy is going to have a whole new look, so it really just boils down to what you guys want him to be called. Gogito or Gogeta? Write the name in a review and whoever gets the most wins.

Speaking of which, 300 REVIEWS!? Are you kidding me!? Jesus! I know I should save my thanks for the end but that wouldn't even begin to describe how grateful I am for all this support. I never dreamed for a second that Dragon Ball AF would be half this popular. I think I've come a long way in three years, and I couldn't have done it without all the feedback and encouragement I've received on this site. So yeah, bravo guys, thanks for this awesome milestone.

Also, the high-five fusion. Yes it's very silly, but sillier than the dance? Introducing it was a huge cop-out but I've still kinda enjoyed this third fusion form – lets me get a bit more creative with the merging scenes. Can't stand writing the same thing more than once, which you inevitably end up doing in Dragon Ball a lot.

As usual don't forget to let me know if you've got any comments, ideas, criticism or if you spot any errors. I bet there's a load of embarrassing mistakes littered around these chapters, I'm going to have to go back and fix them once this is over.


	37. Chapter 37 The Last Battle Part I

Chapter 37: The Last Battle Part I

Piccolo awoke to the light. A sky of tranquil lilac was the first sight that greeted him as he opened his eyes – a sight he was unlikely to ever forget. From the flat of his back the namekian sat up, rubbing his eyes and shaking out the sleep before taking a look around.

Just as he thought: Otherworld. Around him orange clouds meandered beneath the simple green walkway, filled by a single file line of lost spirits – pompom-like nimbuses of consciousness, incapable of communication until judged by the lesser deity Yemma.

Of all the dead beings here Piccolo was the only one who retained his former body. The reward was now standard procedure for the Z-Fighters; Yemma and the Kais couldn't afford to piss off the saviours of the universe. Piccolo had to admit, the perks that came with his profession weren't bad at all. Better still, his wounds were healed. Alpha hadn't pulled any punches in their short-lived brawl. By the time he tumbled through that portal Piccolo had already wished for death.

The gravity here was a little lighter than Earth's. Testing it out, Piccolo clenched a fist and tensed his bicep as he pushed himself back up. Looking past the queue he noticed Yemma's headquarters, a traditional slate complex adorned with balconies, pools and even a decorative set of horns to crown the biggest building.

The namekian sighed; the queue was _long _this time around. He figured it was to be expected with Alpha's tyranny, but it did little to improve his mood. Despite their V.I.P status the denizens of Otherworld still didn't take kindly to Z-Fighters jumping in line, so a weary Piccolo took his place right at the back.

"You too huh? Bummer."

Too shocked to speak, Piccolo froze at the sound of a familiar voice behind him. He hadn't looked around; there was no need. Why would anyone be stood _behind _the last in line for passage to the afterlife? It was a saiyan's voice he heard – a friend he'd known since before he even knew what a saiyan _was_. Piccolo turned to face Gohan, sat on the floor, idly drumming his hands as he waited.

"With any luck they'll send you somewhere nicer this time," he said.

"Gohan?" asked Piccolo. The green man paused; if Gohan was here it could mean only one thing. "I see, you're going back."

"You think it's a bad idea." The saiyan looked down. The disapproval in his master's eyes was easy to read.

But Piccolo couldn't tell him that. Gohan was an adult; he made his own decisions. Besides, having one more powerhouse in the battle against Alpha could make the difference between winning and total annihilation. In reality Piccolo's main concern was worry – worry that Gohan might not make it back at all.

"It's a risk. You know that if he kills you-"

"I'll be erased completely, yeah. That's not going to happen. In any case it's a chance we have to take."

"Hm," Piccolo grunted. It wasn't an agreement, but nor was it a denial. He acknowledged the truth of Gohan's statement, but something else still bothered him – a burning question that he scarcely dared to ask. The namekian bit his tongue as Goku's son carried on.

"Anyway, I'm just waiting now. Kibito-Kai should be here soon to transport me over there. I might only have a minute or so, but you'll be surprised with what I can do with that long."

"Actually I don't think I will," said Piccolo. "Gohan, we all saw your fight with Cell."

Gohan quieted, his eyes sullenly meeting the floor again. With one look Piccolo saw the shame and confusion he had over the battle. Drawing on such a dark power for fighting was unfitting of the son of the purest man in the universe. Piccolo remembered watching it and wondering exactly how much control Gohan retained. Worse still was the idea that he'd have to tap into it once again.

"Just watch yourself out there," Piccolo warned him. "I fought my own demons recently; it's no easy task hanging on to your true self in all that darkness. Make sure it doesn't overwhelm you."

"I know." Nodding his head, the saiyan agreed. "I'd hate to be the next freak you guys have to take out."

"See that you're not. If that happened, you won't find me coming back to fight you."

The saiyan recoiled with eyebrows raised, barely staying upright after his stumble. Piccolo meant it – that much was certain. There were many things he was prepared to sacrifice; he had come back from death time after time to combat the threat of evil. No matter what the situation though, he wouldn't fight Gohan. No amount of begging would persuade him to raise a hand to his old student.

"Good luck Gohan, come back alive." Turning, Piccolo made for the back of the queue, now reduced by ten metres or so during their stalling. Half way over however Gohan called him back.

"Hey, Mister Piccolo."

Piccolo stopped; he hadn't heard that name for years.

"What's going on down there? I mean in the fight. Are we winning?" Gohan asked.

Suddenly Piccolo didn't see a grown man or a potential future threat, but a boy afraid for his father. The namekian managed the vaguest hint of a smile.

"Can't say anything for sure," he admitted. "But I left them in a good position – they have fusion rings now, and Vegeta's back on the field."

"Awesome!" Gohan pumped a fist. "Well hey, Kibito-Kai should get here in a few minutes – and he's got that crystal ball thingy! Wanna hang around and watch the fight with me?"

The namekian paused; what else was he going to do? Wait in line for the next few hours while the fate of the world was decided? Besides, he missed talking to Gohan. It was a while since the two of them spoke – in fact during Alpha's whole reign they had never met face to face. There was hardly a shortage of things for them to discuss.

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

The new saiyan was an echo of his former identities; all the names and forms he assumed in the past were a precursor to this, and yet at the same time he looked like none of them.

Fur the colour of snow covered the fighter's torso, parting only to show off the muscle tone of his chest. Black pants and boots acted as a contrast, and to couple them together the small symbol atop his back formed the circle of a yin and yang, standing out so the fighters could ponder its meaning.

His hair too, was an array of the most vivid white, shortened from the crazed bush of the later transformations to something shorter and leaner; in fact the whole form appeared smaller somehow. Gone was the overwrought, beefed-up physique of the highest Super Saiyan stages. This new fusion, whoever he was, didn't need all the excess weight that came with a power-up. The Earth's Dragon Balls fixed into his chest probably weighed enough, and he still wore a gravity enhancer on each wrist.

His strength became apparent once the Z-Fighters got a gauge of his energy. His aura was unlike anything they'd seen before, ethereal and shifting in particles around him. At different points his mantle of energy changed to make it an iridescent spectrum of orange of blue – a two-tone aurora that breezed about him like specs of glowing sand in the wind.

Any doubts about the saiyan's power were quashed completely once his eyes flickered open. Breaths of shock followed as he blinked the marble eyes of the Super Saiyan 5, the left of Goku's owl-like yellow and the right Vegeta's tropical pool of teal.

The fighter gave a momentary flex, cracked his knuckles and fell into stance. No screwing around this time; whoever he was, this fusion understood exactly how desperate their situation was.

"Th-that form," muttered Raditz, hardly able to form a sentence. "Could it be? . . No way! There's no way that's what I think it is!"

"Yes Raditz, it is," said the fusion, his voice once again a disconcerting blend of Goku and Vegeta.

"So you finally did it!"

"I sure did."

"That's the-"

"-_The Final Super Saiyan_," announced the fighter proudly. With his back facing them he failed to notice the awkward silence and glances passed between the three saiyans. Goten managed a snigger as beside him Trunks flattened a palm to his forehead. Raditz merely shrugged; all three of them figured he was about to say something else entirely.

"What's wrong?" the man asked, sensing their confusion.

"Oh no – it's nothing, never mind." Raditz spoke for the group. "Can you at least tell us your name?"

The Final Super Saiyan paused, his eyes wandering upwards for a moment as he decided on a name. Most fusions came with one hardwired into their consciousness, and as he searched the possibilities one in particular stood out to him. He turned to the group.

"You can call me Gogito," he said at last, grinning at how it sounded on his tongue. Facing the dragon again, he called up to his foe, "You hear that Alpha!? That means your luck just ran out. I'm going to end you today one way or another, so how about you ditch that pathetic form and at least make it a challenge for me?"

Raditz, Trunks and Goten all froze in turn. Immediately they wondered whether they heard him right at all, with their suspicions being confirmed as the colossal dragon thrummed a steady growl that sounded like an agreement. Panicking, Goten broke rank and flailed his arms.

"_Wait WHAT!?_" he cried. "You're saying he's got _another _transformation!? That's impossible!"

"It's not impossible, it's the truth. Look at that form, it's too big and bulky to combat me," Gogito explained, "he hasn't condensed his power – what you're looking at is just raw energy. That kind of body is good for wrecking worlds, but that's about its only use. Don't worry yourself too much Goten. He still won't be strong enough to beat me; at least I don't think so."

"You don't _think _so?"

_Only one way to find out_, Gogito figured.

The Final Super Saiyan could only grin as black smoke began to seep from the scales of the dragon. Dark flames caught in a spark across the length of Alpha's body, melting him smaller and smaller. He became like a snake, shedding all the excess weight one skin at a time. Whenever his size reduced his scales would evaporate into smoke, until at last he became a mountainous, scaleless worm, blind and dumb like a giant baby animal.

As he shrunk and shrunk the miasma of dark energy shielded him from sight once again. Gogito saw the curtains of shadow shaping him; moulding Alpha into a humanoid form and clinging to him like armour. As scarlet eyes glared out from the dusk the saiyan suddenly knew his most important battle was at hand.

Ribbons of darkness fled the scene in a split-second shockwave. The saiyans behind shielded their faces as the energy battered them like a sudden hurricane, but Gogito held fast, his odd-coloured eyes locked on the eye of the storm.

At long last Alpha Porunga revealed his final and most powerful form. Like his long-lost cousin Omega, Alpha's visage was of a broad humanoid figure, hairless and covered in deadly jade spines at half the joints in his body; elbows, wrists, knuckles – even the ridges in his back were capped with hedgehog-like protection, ending with a death-trap of green spikes trailing from the back of his head to resemble a hairstyle. Any rabbit-punch Gogito tried was likely to get his fist mangled.

Alpha had become the bipedal incarnation of a dragon in every sense. A black natural armour covered all but a few areas – the abdomen and neck both thinned to show crimson skin, a colour shared by the Namekian Dragon Balls dotted around his body. Unlike Gogito or his deceased cousin, Alpha's form didn't centre them around his chest. Instead a pair of them protruded from his shoulders, two were set into his knees, two lay beneath his collarbone and the bigger one-star ball emerged from his chest, all seven gleaming in red negative energy.

Gogito couldn't help but smile. The form was powerful enough; Alpha Porunga was a worthy foe for the Final Super Saiyan.

"Impressive," said the fusion.

"You're so blasé, you saiyans," Alpha began. Gogito wasn't sure which he preferred, the dragon's bad impression of Vegeta or his true voice. He spoke in a distorted drawl, a sneer that made the hair at the back of Gogito's neck stand on end, like a serpent given voice.

"You should be proud you made it this far, but this is the end of the line. This game has gone on long enough Super Saiyan. Oh but how fun you've made it! I can't very well send you on your way without giving you one last thrashing can I?"

"You didn't let me finish Alpha," said Gogito. His eyes flashed a shade brighter as the shroud of power intensified. "That power of yours, it's impressive alright. . ." The saiyan gave a smile. "But it's not enough – not quite."

"Oh great, here we go again. Blah blah, heroic speech, blah blah, I'm the strongest, blah blah. You're way bet-"

A roaring impact of light and power drove the rest of Alpha's words to the back of his mouth. Gogito crossed the space before any could blink, coming back down with a shining right hook whose howl reverberated across every corner of Shenron's domain. For a second's delay there was silence; only then did Alpha Porunga fly from the light in a sonic boom, his body hurled like a shot-put through his swirling wormhole and out of sight.

Gogito looked over his shoulder to the others. "Wait on my signal," he said. The fusion then dropped to one knee; a single push of his right leg was enough to propel him faster than light after his mark.

The saiyan joined Alpha on the other side of the portal, emerging to an asteroid belt in the far reaches of space. The dragon's planet changed much since he tore it asunder; now only fragments of a broken world remained, drifting without purpose or current through the empty vacuum.

Whatever the case, Gogito quickly learned that it made a great site for a battle. Materialising at speed, the Final Super Saiyan brought down a two-handed smash to the crown of his enemy. Alpha flew through rock after rock headfirst; soon the gaseous darkness of his 'blood' filled the void, but not before Gogito warped to his flight-path and kicked him through the comets once again until he splatted flat atop one.

As the saiyan closed in a third time Alpha finally managed to prance out of the way. Gogito's Dragon Fist reduced the rock to ashes as his hand hit nothing but stone. Turning, he noticed Alpha Porunga stood atop a nearby rock, sporting an oozing temple with a gash splitting his skull nearly in half.

He was angry again. Gogito had seen that look once before; back in Vegeta's mind when the saiyan prince briefly managed to best him. The Shadow Dragon shrieked, a feral wail of bloodlust and envy, like a child throwing a tantrum in a public place. Gogito almost felt sorry for him; for so long Alpha had convinced himself he was untouchable – that no being from the mortal or spirit realm could ever dream of approaching his level of power.

Porunga shook his head, and as his cranium regenerated he balled up a fist in rage. "Listen here rookie, you might have more power, but you're still deluding yourself if you think you can take me on. I only need to do one thing to take care of you."

Gogito scratched his head, wondering what Alpha's plan was. He was right about one thing though; whatever their difference in strength, the Final Super Saiyan was still in for a fight. Alpha's energy was virtually inexhaustible whereas his depleted with every move, even more so than usual thanks to adopting a brand new form.

_I have to finish this quickly_, he decided then. _Once I start to slow down it'll be over before I know it_.

"_Ultima. . ._" Alpha began. Gogito looked up to his nemesis, now showing a single palm centred with red ki. "_BARRAGE!_"

As the beam raged to life the saiyan ducked into a nose-dive. Energy blazed at his heels, stinging his feet, but as Gogito plummeted downward it was the attack itself that got his attention. It was Vegeta's Crimson Oblivion again, pressurised to a high-speed snipe that took only one hand to use. Alpha took full advantage of that fact as his left arm snapped up, firing off another before the first had even gone.

Spinning into a kick, Gogito summoned the energy to kick the blast away. Such feats were made possible by his new form, but that amounted to naught as Alpha Porunga began to thrust his arms back and forth.

Wave after wave of Crimson Oblivion rained upon Gogito as the saiyan fell into a blurry sequence of dodges and blocks. Visions of snowy white flashed in the darkness, the afterimages making it seem like half a dozen of him blinked around the void at any given time. The Final Super Saiyan was a fortress; whenever he singled out a beam he made a point of swatting it aside with just one hand, as if to impose on Alpha their difference in strength.

With every jump of inhuman speed the saiyan began to get closer. As Gogito neared his dodging pathways grew thinner, the empty space slowly vanishing until at last he was close enough to charge forward and elbow Alpha across his temple.

Following the Shadow Dragon a barrage of jets from Gogito's Dragon Balls punctured holes in Alpha's body. He spun towards them, firing up an arc of the brightest green ki to match them.

As the two attacks collided and cancelled each other out Gogito and Alpha met eyes through the smoke. Neither was sure who twitched first, but within a moment the pair jousted, flying full speed at the other with each a left hook until they met in the centre with a shockwave. Gogito went overhand; Alpha went underhand. The result left both of them sore.

Alpha's punch rattled the saiyan's teeth – he spat out blood and cracked his jaw. Gogito's dizzied the dragon – he aimed for the same spot he'd targeted earlier, trying to get the wound to open back up. No luck there. Both stood still for a time, arm's length from each other, heads spinning and injuries throbbing until both remembered where they were.

The storm carried on like it never stopped to begin with. In a heartbeat the two fighters fell into a blitz of punches, kicks, knees and elbows, a complex dance where failure to match one's partner meant a haymaker to the face.

Tussling for control they ploughed through countless rock faces, scarcely feeling them break on their blows as they fought for dominance. When a kick of Alpha's went wide Gogito leapt at the chance, pummelling the dragon's black chest – hard as a diamond – until he felt ribs crack beneath his fist. A knee followed suit to his exposed stomach; then a blast to the face with the golden energy of the Earth's prized Dragon Balls.

Coughing through the smoke Alpha lashed out in rage. Like some untamed predator he was most dangerous when threatened – the dragon came out swinging with a windmilling fist that Gogito barely anticipated, swaying left to avoid the blow before a ninja-swift kick snapped up to side.

Before long the two were again a whirlwind of fists and excess energy leaking in every colour of the spectrum from their flight. Their path formed a zigzagging rainbow through the asteroid field, tactfully inching away from the enormous blue sun glowing in the distance.

Seeing an opening, Gogito threw his jab and landed it hard. A splatter of dark energy fountained from Alpha's nose, but in reality it was only a glancing blow; the dragon leaned back to absorb the impact, retaining full consciousness so he could reach up and wrap his nails around the saiyan's wrist.

"How about this, 'Final Super Saiyan'?" he jeered, squeezing the black device strapped to Gogito. Sparks began to fly from the LED screen before it flashed to a warning shade of red. "Just one more now. . . Heh, be sure to let me know how it feels to suffocate in the void of space."

"Oh. . ." Gogito trailed off, disappointed. "Seriously? That was your plan?" His left hand punch was as sudden and vicious as a firecracker to the face; Alpha let go out of instinct, his eye swollen and glowing.

"Well, I hate to break it to you Alpha. . ." A shake of his wrist was enough to shimmy off the broken device, but for the remaining one the saiyan had to reach up and unbuckle the strap himself. Alpha's eyes went dead as both bricks of metal drifted into space, as useless now as the rest of the debris around them.

"I don't need those anymore," said Gogito. With a nostalgic smile he watched Bulma's creations drift off into space until a thought hit him.

_Wait a sec, maybe I shouldn't have done that. There's no guarantee I'll find a safe place to un-fuse. Goku and Vegeta might need them_. Gogito caught sight of the devices again, wondering suddenly whether he should zap off and retrieve them. Such a move would provide Alpha with an opening – along with making his cool speech seem completely redundant.

Gogito shrugged. _Eh, I'm sure they'll manage_, he decided, and the thought never crossed his mind again.

"_Ultima Barrage!_"

Snapping the saiyan from his inner monologue, Alpha's own personal hive of Crimson Oblivions poured once more from his palms. With each round a powerful shotgun the dragon dished one out every half-second until the void before Gogito was filled with the constant volley.

The fusion didn't mind. He had already dealt with this attack once. Now that he knew the technique to avoiding it he could replicate it at a faster pace. Speed-lines and afterimages speckled the cosmos as the Final Super Saiyan darted side to side.

It took only a few seconds this time for him to close the gap. Before Alpha realised the saiyan was on him Gogito grabbed his arm and pointed it upward, still blasting continuous jets of red power into the atmosphere. With his side exposed Gogito slammed a hook to Alpha's ribs, a world-crushing pain right where the dragon's armour parted for a soft scarlet underbelly.

As Porunga's eyes whitened in shock the darkness coughed from his lungs. Gogito hit him again, this time a right straight sideways across his face, cracking his nose down the bridge and punching out any teeth that it happened to graze. From there an elbow in the back winded him some more before the Final Super Saiyan flung him into space, already charging his ultimate attack to chase the flailing Shadow Dragon.

"_CRIMSON DRAGON! . ._" he roared, cupping back his hands as red ki sparked into a solidified dragon's head. Moulding the energy was another matter entirely; the technique drew more power from Goku's Dragon Balls than any before it.

After wrestling the ki like a struggling chicken Gogito finally got the energy under his control. The globe locked into place, flashing red as a sign that it was ready to fire. Gogito was only too happy to oblige.

". . . _KAMEHAMEHA!_"

The moment he threw it the saiyan knew he'd taken too long. With the crimson dragon bearing down Alpha snapped to sobriety and threw himself out of the way. Carrying on with a will of its own the Kamehameha snaked off into space, colliding eventually with the blue sun Gogito oft noticed in the background.

The explosion was spectacular. Blue and red flames roared in a spreading eruption that decimated everything in its path. Fortunately that only amounted to a few moons and another nearby asteroid field, but the damage was evident even from afar. Right then Gogito understood the true destructive power of the attack; if he channelled it right it had the potential to destroy Alpha once and for all.

The dragon seemed to understand that too. With a sly sneer he turned back to Gogito, mocking his failure.

"Not a bad move Super Saiyan – but it won't count for much if you can't even hit me with it."

As Gogito cursed to himself Alpha charged again, this time breaking the saiyan's guard with a heavy blow straight to the liver. Seizing the chance, the dragon picked up the nearest slab of meteor that happened to drift by and smacked Gogito twice across the face with the fragment of his old planet.

Upon his third swing Gogito raised an arm in defence. Like a snowball the asteroid broke on his fist, scattering into a million tiny pebbles floating in zero gravity. On its way through the haze the saiyan's punch pushed a few along with it, augmenting his attack with razor-sharp knuckles as he slammed Alpha across the cheek.

Flying back through the belt again, the last Shadow Dragon sought safety in retreat. Turning tail, jade energy streamed from his heels; Alpha geared up to his top speed and weaved through the asteroid field, occasionally firing back a blast as if daring the Final Super Saiyan to follow.

Of course Gogito did. In a mist of blue and orange the white-haired saiyan shifted into overdrive. The naked human eye would see nothing but a wave of distorted air; slowed down a thousandfold and the glimmer of a warrior flying faster than the speed of light through the rocks might have almost been visible. Even with his incredible speed Gogito never hit a single asteroid; he swerved over and under – left and right of every obstacle in his path.

Finally he spotted Alpha's echo of energy again, a green line twisting an obvious path through the field. Slaloming back on course, the saiyan matched himself along the same track and waited for the attack.

It came exactly as he expected it would – with a colossal meteor the size of a small moon barrelling fast towards him through space. As it neared the familiar Crimson of Vegeta's attack struck it from afar; the boulder became a grenade.

Shielding his face, Gogito squinted from the light as pebbles of space-rock nipped his skin and the red energy burned like hot water. The pain was nothing was to the saiyan. He could afford to ride out the attack, knowing it would do him little damage and that staying here would get the best results. His theory was proved as Alpha raced through the explosion, fists raised in attack.

By jumping through a bright light the dragon hoped to blind Gogito to his movements – he would have no idea which hand to block and no indicator of which angle the attack was coming from. So when the saiyan's hand snapped up to deflect his overhand right the dragon froze, his expression turning from shocked to priceless.

Gogito's senses were on a superior plateau. Since transforming he found that sensing energy signals was only the beginning; even closing his eyes, he could see every twitch his enemy made.

From his awkward stance a spinning roundhouse kick sent Alpha sprawling through another landslide of wayward boulders. Half a dozen broke on his face before the last Shadow Dragon hit the deck on one, eventually struggling back onto to all fours with a dark, gaseous energy dripping from his wrathful snarl.

"You'll never kill me Gogito. . ." he managed, grunting and growling his way back to shaky legs. "You _are _me, only younger and less experienced. Why do you think I began this game, hmm? Take a guess? Go on – any guess you like."

Gogito shook his head. "I won't accept any 'reason' for the things you've done. You started this because you're a monster."

"I started this because I was _BORED!_"

The dragon's sudden scream caught Gogito by surprise, the emphasis on his terrible motivation sending a chill down the saiyan's spine. He could only listen in disgust as Alpha continued to try and justify himself.

"You and me, we both live for battles – for the thrill of the chase – for the ecstasy you get when you step over an opponent's corpse – for the challenge of pushing your limits as far as they go," he explained. "Imagine it with your saiyan blood; staying locked away inside a set of Dragon Balls for all those hundreds of thousands of years. Could you imagine a worse hell?"

Gogito stopped to think; in a way he _had _endured that – or at least Vegeta had. Then again, the prince's frustrations vanished once he saw through the illusion. Alpha Porunga's years in confinement were almost certainly real; he was a growing nexus of dark power, the result of countless namekians and humans alike making greedy wishes on a sizeable set of Dragon Balls.

"When I escaped the only thing I wanted was to test myself. I was ecstatic when I learned of your existence; a small community of self-fancied heroes – fighters all with levels beyond what mortals should dream to achieve. I amassed a legion of minds as twisted as my own to pit against them." Alpha shook his head and rested his forehead in his hands, almost certainly on the verge of crying.

"We fought, we won, we lost, we lived, we died. It was the most exciting thing I've ever seen! And now here I am, finally pitted against a 'Final Super Saiyan', the only man in the cosmos who could ever hope to match me. . . Can you imagine my elation Gogito?"

The saiyan thought on it. In a way they were alike, he couldn't deny that. It was pointless considering what would happen if their places were reversed – that wasn't important. Alpha was deranged; he was all the ingredients for a powerful fighter, yet always destined for corruption. He was a danger to the universe; it was that simple.

"What you've done is unforgivable. I might enjoy a good fight, but I won't do it at the expense of innocent lives." Gogito laid out his philosophy.

"When you get to my age you stop caring about all those little. . . Heheh, _trivialities_."

Rage took over Gogito before he could tell himself to calm down. In a burst of iridescent power his aura resurfaced as his muscles throbbed with the desire to break the dragon in two. The saiyan raised his hands above his head, preparing to draw energy from the entire universe for a Spirit Bomb. He'd heard enough of the creature; just one conversation with him and he knew they'd never see eye to eye.

"You can't dodge this one Alpha! Prepare yourself!"

"Oh?" Alpha gave a wry grin. "And you expect me to just sit back and wait while you charge up this technique?"

"No," confessed the saiyan. "You'll wail on me for a good five minutes while I gather energy for this thing. You've got that long to finish me – and if I'm still standing once it's fully charged. . . What then Alpha?"

Alpha snarled in annoyance; any kind of Spirit Bomb from the Final Super Saiyan would destroy him in an instant, he saw that as plainly as Gogito. He had only minutes to bring the fight to a close – regrettable now that they were having so much fun.

As Gogito harnessed energy visible particles of ki flowed towards his fingertips, joining the mantle of his aura to create a godlike visage. In just a few moments the power condensed to a white, glowing sphere hovering two feet above him. Gogito drew energy from the stars and far-off planets, drawing on the life force from the water, the trees, the animals and the skies.

Alpha's headfirst gore into his stomach hit the saiyan like a train. Crazed by his taunts, the dragon opted to spear Gogito out of his pose, carrying him on a mile-long course as they plummeted through debris.

Around him Gogito felt the world change from a sickening pit in his stomach. Suddenly the two were flying in higher gravity; a hotter, denser place that stank of ash and decay. He realised then that the feeling was that which he'd felt before – a thousand times over in Goku's body: crossing dimensions.

The dragon let go of his clutch. As a glowing torpedo Gogito sailed into the nearest cliff-face, breaking rocks on his skull until he skidded into a crater. Immediately the saiyan shook his head and bounded back up; no time to lose.

Smoke from his impact swirled about the clearing, obscuring any landmarks Gogito could see. In standing up too fast he inhaled a lungful, choking on the hot gas until his throat was clear. A swift burst of his aura had the mist fleeing in an instant.

Surrounding the saiyan was a place he'd never set eyes on before, a world he knew should never have existed. The inside of an enormous sphere greeted him, intersected in chaotic lines by columns of the most jagged and ferocious looking emerald clusters he'd ever seen. On each of the crisscrossing stems were attached a handful of platforms, all at different altitudes and angles. In a dome above and below him the floor was an obsidian rock, glassy and reflective like a midnight pool.

This was Alpha's world – the corrupted hall of an Eternal Dragon. Here and there Gogito saw echoes of the design in Shenron's place, only harsher and twisted in shape and frame.

That wasn't the only bad news; Alpha's hysterical laughter made it all the more apparent. Here, Gogito was cut off entirely from the mortal world. Alpha Porunga wanted this battle on his own turf; there would be no Spirit Bombs thrown here, the energy was too vile and tainted for him to use.

Part of the saiyan relished the challenge. The dragon would know he'd lost completely if Gogito bested him here. It was a chance to break the spirit of the enemy entirely – to have them know that they'd lost completely before destroying them forever. Half of him thought that was a good idea.

On the upside this was a confined space away from civilisation – and incredible looking too – a fitting place to have their final bout. The more he thought about it the more Gogito wanted the fight, and it wasn't long before he found himself complying. He had the Inter-Dimensional Instant Transmission – when the time was right he could grab on and warp Alpha back.

"Alright." The saiyan cracked a few knuckles before flaring his ki. "Looks like no Spirit Bomb."

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Posting a double today, Chapter 38 is up as we speak!

Spirit Bomb anyone? :P Yeahhh I wasn't gonna do that again. I'll settle for making you _think _I was! Also, ha! Final Bout! Can't believe I never thought of that before! Kinda fitting that it came to me here. . .

Okay, so remember a few chapters ago when Goku and Vegeta ended up stuck in that limbo state and swapped memories? Well, that event is what allowed them to access the Final Super Saiyan, and this explanation dates waaaaay back to – wait for it – chapter 12 of The Room of Spirit and Time Saga.

I won't go into it too much, but basically there's a part where Vegeta asks Piccolo why he and Goku don't ascend to a higher level when they fuse (unlike Trunks and Goten). Piccolo lists along with all the other elements of being compatible fusion partners (height/weight/age etc.) that friendship is actually a key part of making a powerful fighter.

I remember putting this in all those years ago so I could pull it out for an eventual Super Saiyan 6. Basically by sharing their memories and motivations (why they choose to fight) Goku and Vegeta have now achieved a much stronger bond thanks to a having better level of understanding. Give them a fusion ring and hey presto! Final Super Saiyan! Yes it's cheesy and a bit bullshitty but throw me a bone, I'm rolling with the terrible writer from three years ago.

But yeah, the Final Super Saiyan. Tried to incorporate the Toybe design a little bit there because everyone thinks it's really cool. He's a little smaller though, I imagine this one tones down a lot and I guess has a more Super Saiyan 1/2ish hairstyle. Plus we've got the eyes thing I always do, now giving us a character with severe heterochromia. And then there's the yin/yang thing, which marks Gogito's status as a balance between positive and negative energy (Goku and Vegeta respectively). Like the last Gogeta I'm not gonna draw him, no way could I pull off something that cool looking.

Also I reallllly didn't wanna call him a Super Saiyan 6. I've discussed this with a few people on the site and everyone seems to have a different opinion, but I reckon Super Saiyan 6 is the point where it starts sounding. . . A little bit silly. Calling him the _Final _Super Saiyan instead then was a cheap way for me to put in the Super Saiyan 6 without actually calling it that.


	38. Chapter 38 The Last Battle Part II

Chapter 38: The Last Battle Part II

_So this is it? _Trunks glanced around. Right below them a platter of drifting asteroids moved in tandem like a herd. The resonance of two powerful energies hung over the place like a bad smell to his senses. A fight had taken place here; that much was certain. With Alpha's planet destroyed though, there was now no way to tell this one apart from the countless other battle sites scattered over the world.

_I'm sure of it_, relayed Kibito-Kai. _That's the exact spot where Alpha took Gogito to the other side._

_Good_, said Trunks, switching to his voice to address the others. "Alright let's get into position."

"Gotcha." From behind him Raditz suddenly swooped by, taking his place a few hundred metres opposite Trunks and steadying himself in a static flight against the void. As the half-saiyan yawned and stretched his arms Goten floated to his side.

Without even thinking the pair began to glide apart, to a formation precisely six steps away where they could fuse on command. Their plan relied on precise timing; they couldn't afford to waste a moment trying to merge. In silence the two Z-Fighters waited, eyes fixed and unblinking at the spot half-way between them and Raditz. Eventually Trunks checked the watch function on his device, lowering his voice to a whisper once he realised they'd been quiet for a whole fifteen minutes.

"Two fighters, waiting up high in the void of space, preparing to do a silly dance in the hopes of saving the entire universe. Doesn't any of this seem a little. . . I dunno, _odd _to you?"

Goten merely shrugged. "Eh, I always thought the dance was kinda cool."

The saiyan couldn't believe his ears. Trunks even took his eyes off the warp-point so he could give his friend a stare of obvious disbelief. ". . . You always were a weird one," he decided.

"I thought you liked it too!"

"And I did! When I was _eight _years old!"

"Aww don't be like that," said Goten. "It's saved us before in the past."

Trunks gave a grumble, wordlessly agreeing with his friend. "I still preferred the rings though."

"Alright fine, I guess we'll try and find another pair."

"There are no other pairs."

"Then we'll find another fusion method – a better one."

The saiyan laughed. "Better than the fist-bumping? But yeah, sure thing. Maybe my mom could help us out."

"Fusion, really?" Goten arched an eyebrow. "Nothing against Bulma but isn't that a bit advanced?"

"Capsules. . . Spaceships. . . Dragon Radar. . . These things." Trunks held up the gadget on his arm, at all times supplying him with oxygen and a stable atmosphere."Blutzwave Amplifier. . . _Time Machine_,"

"Hey that last one doesn't really count. Different Bulma."

"A different version of the _same _person!"

"Well that's a whole other argument right there."

"Ughh. . ." Moaning, Trunks buried his head in his hands. "It's like talking to a brick wall."

* * *

"So what do you think of my dimension Gogito?" Alpha taunted, hovering between two sharpened crystal stems as he looked down on the Final Super Saiyan. "Got a homely feel to it, wouldn't you say?"

"This won't save you. You know that, right?" said Gogito.

"We'll see about that."

"Have it your way then."

Gogito took off like he was shot from a silo, homing in on Alpha's stationary position as the dragon set his arms to a familiar pose. Red energy bounced from his palms with Vegeta's technique igniting itself. Gogito could only groan; the same old move again? He'd navigated through it twice already – this time would be no different.

"_Ultima Barrage!_"

Just as before the Super Saiyan span into a complex sequence of flips and rolls, warping left to right as a small fleet of Crimson Oblivions passed him by. When his path was blocked by an emerald crystal cluster Gogito punched straight through it. Shards of reflective gemstone erupted from his warpath, and as the saiyan bobbed and weaved closer he raised his arm for a punch.

He was ten feet from Alpha when the blast hit him; a solid beam blazing right up his back to halt the saiyan in his tracks. The dragon didn't waste opportunities. He rushed ahead and met Gogito with a powerful kick, sending him back into free-fall where he could see the error of his ways.

Behind him countless more Crimson Oblivions rose up from the invisible attacker. Shaking out the pain, Gogito swept back his body to avoid the first before a second passed between his legs, dangerously close to the crown jewels. Only with a closer look did the saiyan realise what was happening.

The floor he'd jumped from – the metallic black surface like tainted marble – was bouncing back every shot from the Ultima Barrage. It was a floor specifically designed to reflect energy. Just one rebound wasn't enough; before long at least a dozen copies of Vegeta's signature attack bounced from every angle of the dome-shaped structure, obliterating everything in their way whilst creating a crimson net of burning tripwires.

"Well, this makes things complicated," Gogito muttered to himself. Those Alpha fired first slowly began to dissipate into harmless energy, but most still ricocheted around the room like table tennis balls fired from a softball launcher. A noise of surprise lurched out of him as one from the side streamed towards his elbow; if he moved it any later the blast might've taken a chunk of him with it.

_No choice but to attack_, he told himself. _The least I can do is make sure he doesn't fire another round_.

Without another thought the saiyan set off again towards his foe. This time, after successfully plotting his way through the hectic maze of Crimson Oblivions, he came face to face with Alpha.

The dragon greeted him with a solid head-butt to the chin as Gogito arrived in an awkward, post-dodge stance, but as the saiyan gained his footing a simple sway sent the next blow wide.

Harnessing power, Gogito decided to try another move in his arsenal. Alpha's eyes went wide with fear as both the man's arms were coated in a sheen of golden ki, wreathed from knuckles to elbows by the golden impression of the Eternal Dragon Shenron. It was a move Gogito had felt in his bones since the two rings clashed, only now receiving an occasion to use it.

"_Dragon Assault!_" He roared, launching into a flurry of concurrent hooks, each of them spearheaded by a golden dragon bearing its fangs. As a combination of both Goku and Vegeta's attacks the technique's power knew no limits; the moment the first Shenron landed Alpha was out for the count. Craters the size of volleyballs sprang up over the dragon's dark exterior with every blow, with each punch the ferocity of a Dragon Fist.

Limp as a dead fish Alpha tumbled to the ground. Through a platform of slate and a pillar of emerald shards the dragon careered until he finally flopped to the black floor. A shine of crimson illuminated him, shining down like a blessing from above as Gogito moulded a massive globe of energy into his hands.

"_Crimson Dragon! . ._" he roared, shaping the beam to the figurehead of its namesake. "_KAAAAA. . .MAAAAAY. . ."_As the technique intensified the room became a blinding shade of red wherever one looked, reflective surfaces making the effect all the more poignant. Alpha rolled to his stomach and pushed himself to all fours; that beam would be the end of him.

"_HAAAAA. . .MAAAAAAYYYY. . ._"

In a desperate bid to stay alive the Shadow Dragon fired at the floor; all seven Dragon Balls glowed a violet hue before shooting each a razor-thin beam. A web of purple streaked to the clearing – seven jets of light on separate courses, reflecting off the ground like wayward bullets until one of them caught Gogito.

Pain lanced up Gogito's side as one of the rays hit him at the back of the arm, searing a smoking hole into his flesh before ending at the Kevlar-thick bone of the Final Super Saiyan. Gogito screamed in pain; in his hands the Kamehameha flashed a dangerous shade – he was beginning to lose control. Catching a whiff of his own burning flesh, Gogito used more force to get the beam under his command. Only then did a second of Alpha's jets punch into his kneecap.

Suddenly the pain was too great. The Crimson Dragon Kamehameha slipped through his fingers, his globe of volatile energy detonating prematurely.

The result was a spectacular misfire: blooming like an exploding star the beam went off in Gogito's face, filling the clearing until only smoke remained.

Charred and bruised, Gogito fell in a half-conscious state to the ground. Pain returned him to his senses as he felt his back barrel through one of the crystal clusters, with gems the size of fists stabbing his spine. Another hitting his ankles put the saiyan into flips and a third was there to slow him down before hitting the ground face-first.

This time Gogito did not get up right away. Instead the saiyan focused for a moment, blocking out the pain of Alpha's death-traps until finally he managed to stand. With practiced breaths – slow and heavy – he yanked out each piercing crystal fragment one by one, making no noise even as he dealt with a tricky shard protruding from the back of his neck. When all was done Gogito was a mess of wounds and energy burns, a smattering of blood staining his celestial white coat of fur.

Alpha didn't have the same problem. As the smoke finally cleared Gogito realised he was gone, having got to his feet and concealed his energy during the saiyan's fall. No matter; Gogito had an idea of his own to try out – if the cretin wouldn't show his face he'd just have to scare him out.

Harnessing positive energy, the seven Dragon Balls across the saiyan's chest began to shine. All at once they released their own rapid beams of light, reflecting off the curved obsidian floor around him to wreak havoc on Porunga's twisted dimension. Whatever Alpha could do, he could try too.

The slightest glimmer of energy was all he needed. Like a bird of prey Gogito homed in the dragon's location, finding him cowering atop one of the many circular platforms. As shots of light bounced about them the two lost themselves to the instincts of close-quarters combat. Alpha charged in a rage, swinging left and right to hit nothing but air before turning into a kick that met only the five-star Dragon Ball.

As he skidded back from the force of the blow Gogito found himself right on the edge of the stand. Alpha ran at him once again. Spinning away, the saiyan evaded his first and only blow, reversing their positions so he could thrust forward both palms in a forceful, energy-augmented strike that pushed the dragon off the edge.

Alpha fell almost forty feet. Without bothering to expend energy he rolled to an expert landing on the next disc-like platform. He raised his arms, silently taunting Gogito into coming down to join him. The saiyan only pulled back his hands, charging his power to a sphere of the brightest azure for a timeless technique.

"_Kamehameha!_"

Alpha leapt to the next platform, escaping any damage before the Turtle Destruction Wave blew up his foothold. By the time he landed on the next isle Gogito had already arrived, forcing him onto the back-foot with a five-punch Goku combination before breaking his guard with a back-flipping bicycle kick from of Vegeta's moveset.

A swift boot to the back of the knee saw Alpha down on the other, and from there a high-powered slug across the jaw was all it took to put him on the deck.

"_Get up!_" ordered Gogito; a kick to the ribs made his argument more compelling. "On your feet Alpha! You don't get to stay down until you've felt the pain of _everyone _you've made suffer!" The saiyan kicked him again, this time so hard that the Alpha's body flew three feet into the air. Gogito caught him and held him aloft, just long enough for the dragon to understand his position before Gogito brought his spine down on his knee, breaking him like a twig.

Alpha Porunga was in too much pain to form a coherent sentence. From the wounds in his body black smoke billowed as his immortal form tried to regenerate quicker than the saiyan could maim him. Gogito carried him over to edge by the neck, tossing him off the platform to career through rock and diamond as the saiyan condensed his energy to a bursting green light from his hands. Only when Alpha hit the ground did he fire it off.

"_Final Shine!_"

Vegeta's technique struck true, quilting the dragon with an evergreen light in an explosion that demolished the obsidian surrounding him. When the smoke cleared Alpha emerged with a limp, coughing and spluttering darkness with a great chunk of his right side missing. At a closer look Gogito could even see the curvature in his flesh where the beam punched a clean hole through him, slowly forming itself back together in shadows.

_Gogito! Gogito? Damn it, he's still not answering. I'll try again in another few minutes._

Scratching his head, Gogito suddenly found himself aware of the voice jabbering around his head. It was a presence that had snuck up on him during the fight, so quietly and without effort that he began to wonder how long the voice had been trying to contact him. The saiyan paused and opened his telepathic connection.

_Kibito-Kai?_

_Finally! I've been trying to reach you for a quarter of an hour!_

In spite of himself Gogito's stomach turned in embarrassment. He told himself to be alert – that he would respond the moment a Z-Fighter got in contact. During the thrill of the battle however he'd forgotten all of it; a foe like Alpha Porunga demanded every ounce of his concentration.

_Yeah sorry about that_, he apologised. _I think t__he reception isn't great over here. Speaking of which, how did you reach me in this place?_

_We're tracking the fight through the Elder's crystal ball_, said the Kai._ I'm here with Gohan; everyone's in position – just get Alpha back here and give the word. We'll show him what real power is all about._

_Leave it to me. _

With Alpha Porunga finally recovered Gogito kept his sentence short, blocking out Kibito-Kai's voice the moment he finished speaking. The dragon had his full attention once again as he hollered up to him.

"Are you done spouting this compassionate crap or do you want to carry on?" he asked. "Please, no more! I'm going to throw up."

"Well at least we agree on one thing!" said Gogito.

Alpha looked puzzled; he crossed his arms and made a face. "What would that be?"

"That the time for words is over. Let's settle this!"

In a heartbeat Gogito was on him again, striking his armour with a dizzying combo before grabbing his arm and twisting it to a lock. From his one free hand the Super Saiyan made a pose with his fingers. He pressed them to his forehead and charged energy for a dimensional jump. Hurtling through the void, Gogito barely managed to warp three feet before an invisible wall slammed into his face.

As he returned in a daze to Alpha's hellish plain Gogito felt an elbow plunge into his stomach. The dragon allowed him a few moments experience the pain before twirling out of the arm-bar and throwing him headlong back into the maze of spikes and stone.

Gogito bounced to a stop, the soles of his shoes balanced carefully on a precarious cluster of jade crystals. Fingers of blood flowed a warm river down his temple like melting wax. Wiping it away, the saiyan shook his head and considered his options.

_No good; why can't I get him across?_

Alpha Porunga's childlike giggle made him seethe. Clearly the dragon knew something he didn't, and the only way to find out was to give it another go. With an unwavering shout Gogito took off again and closed in for the kill.

This time their exchange was much longer; Alpha kept up pace as the two traded blows, even landing a few glancing jabs during their scuffle across different altitudes. In the end the result was the same though. Seeing an opening, Gogito ducked beneath the dragon's swing and delivered a practiced, lethal chop right under the armpit – an oft-used pressure point that made the victim seize temporarily.

Throughout Alpha's momentary muscle lock the saiyan grabbed him again and activated the jump. Once more he found himself bounced away by an unseen barrier, and as they returned to reality the dragon took his turn to act. In a two-footed dropkick Alpha booted Gogito back into the air.

The last Shadow Dragon channelled energy to his arms and grinned. He waited as the saiyan travelled upwards, timing his movements so he could strike when Gogito flew by the dome's very centre – the ultimate death-zone his realm had to offer.

"_Ultima Barrage!"_ Pumping his hands left and right like a shadow-boxing champion, Alpha sent his rapid armada Crimson Oblivions to every square inch of the floor around him. As the strings of a puppet-master they pulled towards Gogito, each nearly parallel to the beam beside it.

They didn't hit him all at once. Instead the Final Super Saiyan found himself suspended at the heart of the room by continuous beams blasting him in constant succession, juggling him aloft with compact explosions shaking him side to side as Gogito screamed in agony. Soon a smokescreen blanketed his body; Alpha carried on firing. The waterfall of blood dripping from the fog was evidence enough that he remained, so the dragon blasted away – cackling all the while – until his arms finally began to tire.

With a shrieking giggle of satisfaction Alpha watched as the lifeless body of the Final Saiyan dropped from the mist in a wreck, hitting five or so crystals on his way down before finally meeting the floor with a bone-shuddering crash. The dragon skipped over whistling in delight.

"Maybe you shouldn't have given that a second attempt," said Alpha. "Know what I mean?"

Craning his head, the saiyan looked up from flat on his stomach. Blood-loss robbed him of the power to stand as Alpha's raw energy burnt his throat raw. "H-How? . ."

"Any halfwit with a brain can train themselves to withstand dimensional warps. You should've done the same; then maybe this fight would've played out differently."

"I'll kill you. . ." Coughing up blood and spit, Gogito cleared his throat. "I swear it," he vowed.

"Oh come now Gogito, don't be a sore loser. Look around you – look at yourself! This is the end of our fight; why don't you just be a gracious opponent and meet your end with dignity?"

As he struggled to see through a swollen eye the Final Super Saiyan felt the roots of his white hair pulled as Alpha jerked him up. Looking closer, the dragon himself had seen better days. His breathing was heavy, his eyes were bloodshot and stains of an onyx powder faded his skin where his body had regenerated itself over and over again. In any case, Gogito knew his own condition was far worse.

_I've lost too much blood. Can't fight like this_.

"You're beaten. We're all alone in my house. No one can enter to fly in and save you and you can't even stand – this isn't the kind of situation where some last minute comeback is going to save you." Alpha released him, letting the saiyan's jaw smack the ground hard.

Just hearing those words made Gogito's skin crawl. His entire being was based around having the power to do more; to endure where others gave in and to carry the weight of an entire universe upon his shoulders. He wasn't about to give up here, not when they had the chance to do so much more. With a snarl the saiyan clenched his fists and pressed them to the floor.

Alpha could only watch – half bemused and half awestruck – as Gogito pushed against the ground. His arms bulged and trembled under the pressure, with his own weight now requiring all his focus to lift. Soon a knee was raised, and then a second, putting the saiyan on all fours so he could take a deep breath and channel energy.

"_You wanna bet?_" he put to Alpha.

As the dragon allowed himself another chuckle he slowly came to notice the luminous golden ki swathed around Gogito's arms. Alpha aimed a kick to be on the safe side, already too late to stop the hurricane of the Final Super Saiyan.

"_DRAGON ASSAULT!_"

Gogito pounced, going from all fours to a jumping left hook in the blink of an eye as ethereal twin dragons became his gauntlets for attack. Each blow was an ordeal for the saiyan, slow and deliberate, but the first knocked Alpha too senseless to form any defence. The saiyan would sink into a hunch as the dragon prayed he was done before launching another haymaker, every one knocking Porunga back a whole two steps.

In the end the dragon finally regained mobility as the saiyan sank back to one knee, his breath ragged and wheezing. Alpha pitched back an arm and prepared to clobber him back down; Gogito reacted with a jumping uppercut, a golden dragon spiralling about his forearm for a final showstopper to complete his combination.

"_DRAGON FIST!_"

The punch sent Alpha headlong into a small crater as his skull hit the roof. Gogito steadied himself and regained his posture, using what little time he had to consider his options.

_I have to get him to the other side. Think Gogito! _In his mind's eye the saiyan flipped through all his memories to date – of Goku and Vegeta's shared experiences and all the battles they fought alone. Combining the two, the saiyan had over a century of combat knowledge; he must have come across _something _that let him bypass the usual methods.

_Majin Buu. . . Majin Buu - it's got something to do with Majin Buu!_ Gogito froze for a moment. Something jumped out at him: a story Goten told him long ago about their battle two decades ago in the Room of Spirit and Time. _That's it!_

Gogito wasted no time filling his lungs with air, stretching back his chest like a cat as he took an enormous inhale that made him light-headed.

"_AALLPHAAAAAA!_" The room quaked from the force of his shout, shaking the dragon free of his crater to plummet back down and hit the ground before him. With a growl of malcontent Alpha glared his way, but it was the thing behind him that caught Gogito's attention.

A crack in space, like a series of intersecting lightning bolts cutting at air, had appeared from the noise he made. Gogito smiled, knowing just one more scream would split the gap between their dimensions like a melon. Focusing hard, he reopened the link between him and Kibito-Kai for a single command.

_GO!_

From spread eagle on the ground Alpha managed his way back up, enraged and still blissfully unaware of the tear between realms opening up like a wound just five metres behind him. Gogito drew in air one more time, roaring again before the dragon could react.

"_THIS IS THE END!_" On his last word the saiyan forced out every mote of oxygen his lungs could hold, elongating his speech to a thunderous scream as the crack in space broadened like immense pressure on a window. Only when he'd screamed his throat dry did it shatter; the void of space ripped into focus, stars and suns twinkling as a backdrop to Alpha's nightmarish domain.

The endless abyss howled at them, a whistling sound like the echo of a forlorn banshee. Alpha finally noticed. The dragon felt the pull of the other dimension along with two distinct powers. Turning, he noticed both Gotenks and Raditz in the faraway distance, charging their energy to its absolute maximum.

"What the. . ?" The dragon turned back – straight into the path of Gogito's flying kick.

Alpha sailed through the opening in a daze, tumbling wildly as he went with the sudden drop in gravity sending him into flips as Gogito paused to watch.

When he finally stopped and steadied to a hover Alpha's face lit up with jubilant mania. The dragon flicked away a breath of dark vapour from his cheek and proceeded to laugh like a madman.

"Three weaklings are just as easy to kill as one!" he stated. Alpha came to eat those words in a storm of fists and dark power as another fighter streaked into view, blindsiding him from below with an aura as fearsome and menacing as his own.

Gohan had arrived.

Assuming his last transformation the saiyan exploded in a rage-fuelled blitz of crazed, non-stop attacks. So ruthless and savage were his punches that Gogito wondered whether it truly was Gohan. He showed Alpha no quarter in which to retaliate, bombarding him at every moment with a fist or a kick or some combination of the two – he moved too fast to tell from afar.

So mesmerised was the Final Super Saiyan by Gohan's assault that he scarcely noticed Novus flying into position opposite Raditz and Gotenks. Together the three of them channelled their ki, with Raditz's triple Kaio-Ken blazing in a vortex around him.

When his arms were spent the half-saiyan grabbed Alpha by the ears and jerked him into a head-butt so skull-crushing that Gogito couldn't help but cringe. With Alpha stunned Gohan looked as if he was about to carry on beating him to a bloody pulp. In the end the saiyan held his nerve, soaring away in a burst of power until he assumed his place in the diamond formation.

With the four of them together the beams began to charge. Searching rays of colour formed a stunning aurora across the dark void of space as four lights began to shine in a diamond around Alpha. The energy flowing from that tiny zone was larger than anything Gogito had felt before, with each warrior putting out godly levels of ki to saturate the place with raw power. Blue, gold, red and black fired at once, aimed towards the exact same spot at the centre of their formation: Alpha Porunga.

"_Kamehameha!_" screamed Gotenks.

"_Divine Blaster!_" Novus said.

"_Kaio-Cannon!_" was Raditz's call.

"_Void Kamehameha!_"

As Gohan's beam rocketed into play their plan became complete. Four colours raged at Alpha with no weak link in sight, pillars of solidified power normally made for wiping freaks off the map; today they served another purpose.

Alpha returned to consciousness, registering his situation only as the four beams converged on him in a colourful x-shape of energy with no way out. Struck at once by so much power, Alpha threw out his arms to hold them at bay, using eons of power saved up inside the Namekian Dragon Balls to keep away the blasts that should've ended him.

Stuck now, the dragon could only hold his ground as the fighters pushed more and more energy behind the beams. They were too strong to repel; Alpha held the weight of several worlds beneath his aura, crashing like four never-ending waves against his shaky defences, splaying ki left and right. He couldn't push them away and he couldn't escape, such was their combined force; the last Shadow Dragon found himself trapped beneath the might of four ultimate attacks, completely exposed for the one fighter who could defeat him.

Taking wing, Gogito finally soared through the dimensional opening to confront Alpha. He stopped at just ten metres away, savouring the look of terror on the villain's face before his fingers curled into Goku's immortal pose.

"Let's see you dodge this one," he said. "**_CRIMSON DRAGON! . ._**"

"W-w-wait! Stop! You'll kill us both!" insisted Alpha, but the saiyan wasn't listening.

"**_KAAAAAA. . ._**" Manifesting as a swirling mass of crimson particles, the energy frothed and struggled in his grasp as Gogito fought to keep it under control. He wouldn't fail this time; too much rode on his shoulders to falter now.

"You won't survive from that far away! Don't be an idiot!"

"**_MAAAAAYYYYY_. . .**" As the rumble of power howled in his ears Gogito pushed even more into his hands. Just to be safe he made sure every last scrap of energy from the Dragon Balls went into it, an enormous influx that the Son Goku by himself could never hope to channel all at once. Gogito felt his face ripple and hair flap from side to side with the screaming force of energy opposite him; his clothes began to tear and his muscles bulged so tightly they began to bleed. Disregarding it, the saiyan drawled the third syllable.

"**_HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. . ._**"

"N-no. . . No please!" Alpha's voice was a whimper. Gogito saw the moment when all the hoped faded from his eyes. Gone was the merciless dictator; here was a pathetic creature begging for his life.

Looking down at his brewing blast, a wave of terror suddenly swept over Gogito. Under the strain of so much energy the orange ring on his middle finger began to crack. Starting off as a hairline split, the more energy he used the more the crack widened. Panic gripped him as he spoke once more, fearing it would break before he finished his ultimate technique.

"**_MAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY. . ._**" The fractures widened again, this time splitting so wide Gogito could see the inside of the golden alloy. The rings would break, that much was certain, but not before he got his last Kamehameha. What worried the saiyan more was Goku and Vegeta; they would come back into this world powerless and without oxygen in the void, winning their battle only to die moments later.

_I should've held onto those gadgets!_ He cursed himself. There was only one thing for it. Channelling energy around his body, Gogito diverted a good chunk of his life force to cloak himself entirely in the orange and blue aura of the Final Super Saiyan. _This is all I can do for now. Goku, Vegeta – stay alive._

"_**HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**"_

* * *

What happened next was hard to follow. Gotenks watched as in one moment a compressed supernova spilled from the palms of the Final Super Saiyan – the roaring crimson image of the dragon Shenron. Baring its fangs, the dragon devoured Alpha like a serpent swallowing its prey, birthing an explosion that shook the universe to its very core.

In the next moment Gotenks found himself fleeing. Z-Fighters from every corner of the diamond turned tail to run as the shimmering crimson light flared as a red dawn over the void of space, spreading out and engulfing everything in its path like a nuclear blast.

With raw power stinging at his heels the fusion warrior hurtled headlong into an asteroid field. Gotenks ploughed through the few that caught him unawares with his face before ducking into a complex weave, bobbing through the rocks like a professional as his speed slowed dramatically.

As the aftermath of the Crimson Dragon Kamehameha began to catch up with him Gotenks thought up another plan. Throwing out all the energy he could spare the saiyan released a small legion of Kamikaze Ghosts to send through the field. Streaming ahead, they spaced themselves out and detonated on the asteroids, clearing the way for Gotenks to gear up to his top speed and leave the storm in a flaming bloom of fireworks.

Behind him the eruption finally reached its end. Still hurtling at breakneck speeds, Gotenks banked towards a nearby moon and descended to the nearest side. He skidded upon landing, grinding stone with his shoes to slow himself down. In the moment before he halted the fusion split with a humorous pop into two fighters.

"WOOO!" Goten whooped, immediately meeting Trunks with a practiced high-five before pumping his fist in ecstasy. "That was awesome! Did you _see _that?"

Trunks couldn't help but smile. "Yeah alright, that _was_ pretty amazing."

Looking out over the curve of the moon, the saiyans watched as the last glimmers of Gogito's attack flashed across the now-featureless landscape. The two of them collapsed to the ground, exhausted and thirsty. As the void bustled with ki before their eyes they waited for their energy to slowly recover.

"Well, there's no trace left of Alpha. That's definitely the end of him," said Trunks.

"Of course it is," offered Goten. "I don't think anything could've survived that blast."

"Yeah, that's what worries me."

Goku's son turned, a blank stare telling Trunks he didn't understand.

"You see the distance Gogito fired it from? That was almost point-blank. . ."

Before they could discuss the matter further a warp behind them made Goten jump out of his skin. The second, third and fourth corners of the diamond materialised out of thin air, with Novus still fixed in the pose of the Instant Transmission. Gohan and Raditz removed their hands from her shoulder.

Goten grinned and gave a mocking tut. "Gohan! Novus! And here we thought you were going to be late to the party! Scared us to death! Isn't that right Raditz?"

"_We? _Nah, I was solid as a rock the whole time," Raditz boasted. "But when Alpha tumbled out of that window you should've seen you – whiter than those ghosts of yours."

"Funny, those just saved our bacon," mused Trunks. He glanced around; there should've been more of them – Gogito was still nowhere to be seen. Fearing the idea he'd started on before, Trunks asked away. "Where are Goku and Vegeta?"

The look passing between the three older fighters confirmed what Trunks suspected. He couldn't sense their energy anywhere – for lightyears in every direction the cosmos was empty.

"We don't know," muttered Gohan, avoiding the logical conclusion. "We can't seem to find them."

Just then the entire group twitched in discomfort; the queasy sensation of a Kai hacking his way into their neural networks. In an instant they were joined in telepathy, opening with Kibito-Kai's nervous voice addressing one fighter in particular.

_I know you're all celebrating but I just called Gohan to say you've got maybe thirty seconds left. Might want to hurry with the goodbyes_.

"Gotcha." Gohan's expression dropped; clearly he hated leaving them with such a huge matter unresolved, but the whole thing was out of his hands. He _was_ dead after all, and the afterlife could only keep him back in the mortal world for so long.

With so little time Gohan rushed around the Z-Fighters in turn, saving Goten for last. "Novus, it was great meeting you. Uncle Raditz, you stay a good guy. And Trunks, keep my little brother out of trouble."

"No promises there."

"And Goten – wait. . . Hang on a sec!" Gohan paused as an obvious thought came to him. Something didn't add up. Switching back to his mental voice, the saiyan addressed Kibito-Kai.

_Supreme Kai, you're still in Otherworld right? At the Check-in Station with Piccolo?_

_Yeah, why? _

Looks of confusion passed between the Z-Fighters before Raditz interjected. _So. . . No unexpected visitors?_

_Like who?_

_Goku and Vegeta_, said Trunks. _We can't find either of them_. _For a minute there we figured the worst._

_Huh. . . _For once in his life Kibito-Kai sounded just as puzzled as the rest of them. _Well they're not dead, I can tell you that for a fact_.

"YES!" Goten jeered. Whoops of joy and sighs of relief claimed the group.

"Alright guys, looks like you'll have at least one more mystery to solve while I'm away," said Gohan. "I'll see you all soon enough. The moment I get back we're taking on Hyperion's road." Finally the saiyan moved over to his brother, resting a hand on Goten's shoulder for some final words of encouragement. "Goten, make sure you-"

A whirring sound of teleportation cut the saiyan off midsentence as his body vanished against his will. His time ran out at the worst possible moment. In just a few blurry lines Gohan was gone, back to the afterlife where the rest of the fallen fighters awaited.

Goten held out his arms and whined in dismay. "Oh come on! _Seriously? _They couldn't give him like ten more seconds!?"

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Well that's that! Alpha is dead! Gone! Obliterated! . . _Finally!_

You know as much as I've loved writing this story, I have to admit I'm a little relieved I'll never have to write a full Dragon Ball Z action sequence again. After a certain point it's just an exorcise in synonyms. There are only so many different ways you can say 'X punched Y really hard' and so on, and after 70+ chapters of this the creativity really starts to wear thin; thinking up new metaphors and ways to phrase things that you haven't already used becomes something you dread.

We still have two chapters remaining though! I want one to wrap everything up and give some closure and then another for a final epilogue. I'll try and post those two simultaneously as well – or at least really close together.

As for the battle itself, there's not much that I can really comment on except for the whole 'plan' thing that I built up involving all the main characters pinning Alpha down. Not sure if anyone remembers, but I tried to establish that they could do that in the five against one battle with Alpha. A good few of you have suggested to me that the secondary characters should have some input on the defeat of the main villain, since in most sagas they have little to no effect on them. So yeah, took that on board :D

Also, brought back the whole 'loud noises breaks dimensions' from the Majin Buu saga. It made a nice little final resolution to the fight. On the downside though, it _did _alert me to one huge problem with the Room of Spirit and Time Saga: Why didn't they just do that to escape the room!? Trunks was there from day one and he's literally done it before! I guess we can deduce that since the Room teleported its victims back to the lobby with every jump it probably wouldn't have worked anyway. . . But no one even tried it!

Only two parts of the story are left to be addressed, two questions that always crop up in a Dragon Ball Z arc: 1. What's going to happen to the people of Earth? 2. Where the hell are Goku and Vegeta? Find out both next time!


	39. Chapter 39 New Earth

Chapter 39: New Earth

Side by side Trunks and Bulma walked the halls of Shenron's domain, her heels clacking off the metalwork. The ceilings were dented and the walls bucked inward. Sparks came in great showers from holes in the floor, making them sidestep or jump every ten paces; once Trunks was even forced to fly, carrying his mother over the chasm too wide to clear in one bound.

People passed them by, scuttling out of their homes. Most had heard the news and were rejoicing while others remained sceptical, creating panic as they feared the apocalypse was still coming. After spending so much time in the claustrophobic maze of tunnels Trunks and Bulma knew them better than any, and had long since learned to phase out the rabble of voices around them.

"What do you mean 'just gone'? How can they be 'just gone'?!"

"Like I said, they're nowhere to be seen." Trunks repeated a tenth time. "After that explosion we honestly all figured they might have bit the dust, but it turns out they're actually. . . Well. . . Just gone I guess."

Bulma's angry snarl made him think twice about saying it again. Instead Trunks could only offer words of comfort.

"Look, this is a good thing." He assured her. "I saw Gogito right next to that thing when it went off – by all rights they probably should be dead. Dad's already been brought back once by whatever trick Hyperion uses so there's no way to revive him anymore. At least now we know he's still out there somewhere."

"Exactly: _somewhere_. You don't know where! . ." Bulma released a sigh. "Chi-Chi is going to freak out."

"Oh I let Goten defuse that particular dynamite."

Just then the sound of Chi-Chi's shouting resounded from the next corner. Goten's whimpering was barely even audible. The saiyan cracked a nervous smile and shrugged.

"Or ignite it, I suppose."

Finally the two were laughing as they left a serious discussion and fell headlong into another one. Rounding the corridor the pair found themselves once again in Shenron's great hall, a broken ruin and a poor pittance for its usual majesty.

From out of the broken roof Trunks spied the tail of the eternal dragon flicking into the distance. With their eyes to the sky Dende and Mr. Popo stood at the room's centre, having just spoken with Shenron. Raditz and Novus were already here, hanging out atop one of the shattered pillars whilst Goten got the earful of his life from his mother in the far corner.

"What's the news?" Trunks called over, eager to hear their situation.

Dende turned from his spot in the basin of Gogito's birth crater. He regarded the saiyan with a look of apology.

"Shenron says the damage to his dimension is too severe; if it isn't sealed off and repaired as soon as possible it's going to collapse."

"We can't still be here when he seals it." Trunks saw the issue right away. "He could be hundreds of years fixing this place."

"Right. Once it goes under construction we won't be able to come and go from here as we have done – we'd be stuck here if we stay," said Dende.

"In other words we need a new place to live," Raditz chimed in, hopping off his seat. "Shenron said he's got enough energy to take us wherever we want to go, but the fact remains that we still need a place capable of sustaining human life."

Goten suddenly made his way into the conversation, appearing behind Popo with the left side of his face reddened by a hand. "How about Mars?" he asked.

Silence followed as Goten's expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to tell whether he was joking or not. Neither would've surprised Trunks.

"Alright, any suggestions _besides _Mars?" Raditz corrected himself.

More silence. Shrugs and glum faces were traded back and forth between every Z-Fighter present until a faint rustling caught Trunks's attention.

Turning to the woman beside him, the saiyan noticed it was his mother. Her eyes lit up with the sudden look of eureka only a scientist could display. Bulma's hand fished through the pockets of her lab coat as an idea suddenly came to her, eventually retrieving a brown plain envelope with no address.

"Goku gave me this," she remembered. "Right before that last fight – he said it would ensure humanity's future in case he didn't make it back."

"Well we can't just sit around waiting for him to show. Open it," said Trunks.

With a nod of agreement Bulma complied, carefully tearing off seal and tipping the contents into her hand. Fighters gathered to see a simple slip of paper. In small, computerised print was a random sequence of at least a hundred letters and numbers and squiggly symbols. No man present knew what to make of it.

"Is this a joke?" Goten asked. "How is this supposed to 'ensure humanity's future'?"

"Let me see. . ." Putting on her glasses, Bulma took a closer look at the digits. The pattern was of her own formula – the layout was unmistakeable. Goku must've asked his ship for a printout at some point during his journey.

"These are galactic coordinates," she told them at last. "They point to somewhere in the cosmos – clearly somewhere Goku thought was important."

"Then I suppose we have a new destination," offered Novus.

* * *

Two Days Later

In a maelstrom of fiery colour Goku hurtled across the stars, flying through gas giants, meteor showers and swirling nebulas blissfully unaware of the chaos around him. When he awoke it was with a sudden, skull-smashing bang; hardly the best start to his day.

As a blue and orange cloak of swirling ki fled away from him Goku stirred to life lingering on the pain of the impact. Thinking back, he wondered how long he'd been asleep for. Hours? Days even? The saiyan then lurched to a sit upon remembering the events leading up to his sleep. Right away the strain on his wounded body made itself apparent, but worst of all was the gravity out here, hundreds of times that of Earth's. Getting up, Goku felt the weight of a thousand cinder blocks strapped to his body.

His stomach gave a groan; only food would heal him now.

As the saiyan's mind flashed back to Alpha his eyes checked the skies for any sign of life. The dragon was nowhere to be seen or felt, but Goku remained horror-stricken nonetheless.

The sky above was an orange sunburst of brightening shades, the streak of a painter wielding a fiery palette. Beyond that and in patches of darkness, the black void of space was plainly visible, ornamented with towering constellations of red, blue and yellow shapes. _Farspace_, he realised with a start; those patterns and the high gravity pointed to nothing else.

Out of instinct the saiyan checked his wrist; if he could survive in the void then he could start the long journey back right away. Instead his arm was bare. He remembered then that Gogito flung the devices into the void if only to prove his might as a Final Super Saiyan. The arrogant warrior had doomed his creators.

"Great," Goku muttered aloud. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Figuring he should at least get comfortable, the saiyan checked his surroundings. Red grass the shade of Vegeta's signature spread out before him in endless valleys, speckled with the occasional vibrant yellow weed pointing its leaves toward the native sun.

Stretching out his senses, Goku felt the presence of an incoming group of natives – twelve by his best estimate. Around him the saiyan felt the pulse of the wildlife; at a second look he then homed in on at least five miniature bear-like creatures, blending into the crimson with their fur of the same colour. That covered him for food at least.

Switching his attention back to the locals, Goku turned towards their location and saluted a hand over his forehead to see them.

The natives appeared a primitive species, skinny and upright at around five feet tall with their oaken brown skin sagging off every feature. Their backs were solid bone, a rounded oval shape concealing fragile insectoid wings. Goku noticed makeshift staffs and daggers, tied together in haphazard strips of bolted metal. They were made from scraps of alloy that landed here – all the useless junk and space debris that happened to drift by.

Glancing behind him, Goku realised they must have noticed all the smoke from the crater he left in their planet and rushed over to check it out. After scoping their power levels he prepared himself for a fight; these were no weaklings. At this level of gravity the energy standards of the inhabitants were on a whole different level to the other races he'd come across on two tours of the galaxy.

As the saiyan readied himself to throw down, his new visitors swarmed in a circle around him. As one the twelve natives span into some kind of pose, Goku assumed his own combat stance.

The saiyan's left eyebrow then rushed up his forehead as each and every one of the odd alien threats dropped to their knees, prostrating themselves before him in dramatic heaves of worship. He stammered complaints with flaps of his hands, but that only seemed to invigorate his new followers. Approaching him, the natives lifted the saiyan onto their shoulders and paraded onward, singing a chorus of droning notes far from any language he recognised.

"Guys! Hey! I'm not who you think I am!"

When they ignored him again Goku decided to take flight. In a rush of ki he swerved to a spot ten feet above them and watched as their eyes began to sparkle. Here was a man flying without wings, his energy keeping him afloat in an aura around him. Immediately they dropped to the ground again, humming in devotion to their new god.

"Rrghh," Goku groaned into his hand. "Just what I need!"

* * *

"I still don't see why we had to take the ship," grumbled Trunks as the planet came into view. A blue metropolis world spun on its axis before them, its skyscrapers piercing the clouds to flash a glimpse of the reflective solar panels covering its entirety. Raditz and Novus swooped an x-shape past the cockpit window, stalking the void to ward off potential threats.

"Quit complaining," said Bulma. "I wanted to see it for myself. You guys should be grateful I had a spare one of these – you lost or destroyed all seven of mine."

Turning away, Trunks swapped a nervous glance with Goten. His mother wasn't about to let him forget how much Capsule Corporation money they'd lost on the Alpha Tour; the ship-sized holes in their bank account were a constant reminder.

Around them the capsule bucked like an agitated bull as they entered the planet's atmosphere. With the external shell of Capsule Eight heating up like a meteor Raditz and Novus accompanied it all the way to the ground. Past static highways and lightless bridges the ship plummeted to the surface, smoke obscuring the grand sight of the planet-wide city from their view.

As prong-shaped stilts folded from its belly Capsule Eight slowed itself to a controlled descent during the last few hundred metres. With the ace piloting skills of its inventor at the helm the ship touched down like a head on a pillow.

In her eagerness to check schematics Bulma was oblivious to the steaming hiss of the blast-door swinging open.

"Alright hang on, we need to check if it's safe to breathe out there. Computer! Tell me what I'm looking at."

"_Planet Taulos_. _Orbital period: three years. Radius: approximately two hundred thousand kilometres. Day length: four Earth days. Suns: three. Moons: five. Satellites: sixty three. Surface temperature: twelve degrees centigrade. Surface Gravity: two Gs. Population: Four.__"_

"Four?" Bulma glanced through the cockpit window to see Goten and Trunks had already gone, meeting up with Raditz and Novus in the middle of the alien street.

"Again!? What is with you guys?" Bulma screamed. A check over her shoulder proved the air-tight hatch was all the way open; if the air was toxic she'd be suffocating by now. "Well whatever, give me a sec."

Once she approached the doorway the planet's gravity suddenly hit Bulma. Here the air was twice as dense as Earth's; her movement slowed to a hunched limp as she tried in vain to stay upright. Chivalrous as ever, Trunks held out a hand to help his mother down the stairs.

"This kind of gravity isn't too bad. You should get used to it in a day or two," he said.

"That's a relief." Out in the open Bulma could finally drink in the full grandeur of the planet. On every street corner the buildings rose up over twenty storeys, glassy and curved with detachable plates that harnessed solar energy. Walkways and bridges high above connected them together in an endless labyrinth, intersected by the stationary traffic of abandoned flying vehicles.

Only then did the barrenness of the planet make itself known to Bulma. There wasn't a soul for miles around; it was as if everything here simply vanished, leaving behind nothing that could've indicated where or how the inhabitants were taken. This was a citadel – a sprawling home of intergalactic trade – now abandoned to the war on the last Eternal Dragon.

"This is Taulos," Goten revealed, snapping his fingers as he called upon his memory. "Yeah, I remember my dad telling me about it. Baby and Piccolo fought each other here, this is where Pan. . ." The saiyan trailed off.

"What happened? Where is everyone?" asked Novus.

"That's the thing. Apparently Baby absorbed everyone on the planet to fight at his fullest."

"Alpha put the only parasite in his crew on the most populated planet in the galaxy – smart," Trunks deduced. Looking around, the saiyan took to inspecting every corner and window to gain information. The lights were all still on and water still surged through the pipes. The fact that the sky cruisers still hovered in suspended motion indicated the power was still on; this planet was completely untouched.

"Look at this: plenty of space, food, light, shelter, warmth, the potential for galactic trade – this planet has everything," he realised slowly. "Goku knew that without any more wishes the Earth could never be restored. We'd have to start again no matter where we go; this planet at least gives us the best head start we could imagine."

"That's a big decision," said Raditz.

"Take me up there." Bulma pointed skyward, towards the highest building her eyes could find. "I want to see the whole thing."

"Done." With a hand around his mother's wrist Trunks took flight, the other fighters following in his shadow. Bulma flinched for half a second as they caught the upstream, but she'd flown before; after so many years around these people the bluenette had learned to shut her eyes and put all her faith in whoever was made to carry her.

Before she knew it her feet were touching the ground once again. Bulma opened her eyes to a vista of glimmering metalwork, an ocean of high-tech engines and solar panels frozen in time around them. Billboards still scrolled back and forth between adverts and a single solitary streetlight flickered to the north.

Approaching the side of the roof, the Z-Fighters pointed and exchanged comments as they noticed something in the distance. It was too far away for Bulma to make out, but after asking them it turned out to be Piccolo's battle site – a district of the city completely levelled by ki, complete with the smouldering ruins of skyscrapers and a graveyard of flaming cars. Still, the area was a paltry loss when Bulma considered the vastness of this planet, almost fifty times the size of Earth.

"This place is amazing. . ." Goten stared in wonder. "We have to live here! Come on guys we just have to! Look at it!" he pleaded.

Trunks couldn't stop himself grinning. Goten put his hands together and was about to drop to his knees before Bulma finally caved in.

"Alright, alright, you guys made your point. I don't think any better options are in a hurry to present themselves so we might as well take the vacant planet. We'll tell Shenron to send us to Taulos."

"Not Taulos," said Raditz. The others turned and met him with inquisitive stares as he looked out over the lip of the roof. "From now on this place is New Earth. . . Unless anyone has any better names?"

'New Earth'. Bulma smiled; it had a nice ring to it. Looking now at the metropolis world, she envisioned how humanity would look in a year's time – then five years – then twenty. This place would sustain them for generations to come, providing more space and advanced technology than they could ever hope for on their original planet.

"Then it's decided. New Earth it is," said Bulma.

"Oh yeah what a great name; very original," croaked a voice.

At once four powers flared as they rounded on the newcomer. No one heard or felt him approach, yet the voice came from right beside them – on the same precarious roof they dared to fly to. Instead of a monster or some alien opponent though, the fighters found themselves pointing four different colours of energy at King Kai, the plump blue figure having materialised before them.

"Twitchy today are we? Thought I taught you better than that Raditz."

As the beams diffused the group quickly noticed that King Kai himself wasn't really there. His form was transparent with a white glow pooling from his feet; a hologram of sorts or perhaps an astral projection.

"So that's what you look like – I always did wonder," said Bulma. "What is that thing?"

"This?" The Kai looked his body up and down before giving a coy shrug. "Nothing really, just a new technique I developed while you guys were off saving the galaxy."

"Next time I die you're teaching me that," said Raditz.

"Oh no, only my very best students get this one."

"I _am _your very best student!"

"Not to be rude," Bulma started, already sick of the bickering, "but is there any reason why you're here?"

King Kai groaned. "Got some friends of yours here that want to speak with you."

"You're with the others?" Goten asked.

"Yeah everyone's here." The old Kai turned to the invisible group standing behind him. "Alright you're up, just put your hand on my shoulder."

A few seconds of King Kai looking uncomfortable passed before two more fighters blurred into transparent imagery. Bardock and King Vegeta appeared at his back. Even in death they looked healthier than ever, alert and tough like a pair of old war veterans.

"Dad!" Raditz ran over, only to phase right through his father and retreat looking glum.

"Hey Raditz," said Bardock. "Sorry I can't be there guys, but his majesty here has some information on Goku and Vegeta you might want to hear."

"You know what happened to my dad!?" Goten strode forwards.

The King of Saiyans nodded. "Yes. They've been moving so fast for the last few days that I haven't been able to get a fix on their location, but they stopped just a few hours ago."

"Moving so fast?" Bulma didn't understand.

"That explosion sent them flying across the galaxy I'm afraid. Goku and Vegeta are lightyears away from you right now," Bardock revealed.

Trunks scratched his head; the story didn't make sense. "How did they survive that? If they got separated they shouldn't have been able to breathe in the void of space, right?"

"I wondered that myself," said the King. "I think perhaps Gogito had something to do with it. Regardless, they're both alive and stranded somewhere out in Farspace. It could take them a while to get back to you, but I'm sure they will eventually."

"_Eventually?_" Suddenly Bulma was livid. Since the death of Chronus a fleeting glance was the only thing she'd seen of her late husband. Now they would have to wait even longer for him to return.

"Alright hurry it up!" snapped King Kai, clearly straining under the toll of his new technique. "You guys must think I'm made of energy or something."

As their hands left his shoulder Bardock and King Vegeta both faded from the picture. Raditz made sure to ingrain the image of his father in his memory, knowing full well that he might never see the old saiyan again. King Kai gave them no time to say goodbyes before another pair showed up behind him – second set of relatives.

Gohan and Pan appeared in motion. The saiyan's gi was still torn where his energy singed away the fabric in the battle against Alpha, but Pan was the real sight to behold. It felt like eons since any had laid eyes on the feisty teen. Goten immediately felt tears in his eyes.

"Hey guys! Guess where we're going!" she announced.

Gohan smiled and addressed the others. "Just checking in before we head out. We're going to take on Hyperion's road, so I guess we'll see you soon!"

"Hyperion's road? Isn't that-" started Trunks, although Raditz cut him off before he could finish.

"It's long as hell," he emphasized. "You know it took the lot of us at Super Saiyan 4 six months to cross that thing?"

"We know!" said Pan, taking responsibility. The issue was plain to see; with Super Saiyan 2 as her maximum it would take Pan much longer – Gohan too if he planned on accompanying her. The difference was impossible to properly calculate, but they would try it anyway. "Is it _really _that boring?"

"It really is." Raditz couldn't bring himself to lie.

"We could be on it for years," Gohan reiterated. "You're still sure about this?"

Pan folded her arms and turned away. "What other option do I have? We'll just have to fill the time with some extra training."

"Oh will we?"

"Yes!" She faced her father and tugged on his arm. "Come on you promised! It's past time you trained me and if we've got time and an endless road to fill then we might as well use it!"

"She's got a point Gohan," said Trunks.

"Don't encourage her!"

"Come on pleeeeaaaase?" Pan pulled at him harder until Gohan was at risk of falling over.

"Alright! Keep it down would you?" he muttered, keeping a hand over his mouth. "And only on the condition that you don't tell your mother."

"Promise!"

"I'll tell her myself if you take much longer," said King Kai.

"Alright, I'll let the others have their say. Take care you guys. Hope I see you sooner rather than later."

"Bye-bye everyone!" Pan's last wave faded into nothingness as the pair removed their hands from King Kai's shoulder.

The lesser god stood on his own for a few seconds as he swiftly beckoned over the next fighter. Uub blinked into focus behind him, his eyes glumly staring down the floor as he kicked his feet back and forth.

"Uub! How's it going buddy?" Goten quizzed, excited already. "So, you joining my brother on his journey back to life?"

"That's the thing." Chewing his lip, Uub finally met the gaze of the group. "I'm afraid I can't. Majin Buu took all my power when you and I fought him. If I attempted the road now. . ."

"It would take several lifetimes instead of years," said Novus. There was no sugar-coating it; Hyperion's highway was meant to give the most powerful forces in the universe a second chance. If Uub wasn't up to the task before setting off he might never reach the end. With the Dragon Balls gone the youngster's fate was obvious: he would have to stay in Otherworld.

Before the others could protest Uub finished his speech. "I'm hard at training as we speak. Someday I'll be able to return to you guys, but not before I've recovered all my strength."

"We understand, Uub. Take as much time as you need," said Trunks, noticing Goten was about to blurt out something stupid.

"And if he's staying then I am too." The voice of an older man then voiced his support as the ghostly apparition of Tien appeared beside Uub. The triclops looked his way and gave a nod of encouragement, adding, "Uub's my sparring partner, it's not like I can just leave him behind. And besides, if I can get his power to come back quicker then that's better for all of us right?"

"Right," said Raditz. "Don't rush yourselves. Make sure you're ready before you take on that thing."

As another figure blurred into motion Trunks found himself staring at the orange-clad monk he'd known his entire life. One look at his face and the saiyan knew what he about to tell them; his heart sank at the prospect of him staying dead.

"Krillin, you too?"

"Yeah. . ." Krillin groaned, already apologetic. "I hate to admit it but that road sounds tough, and after that last tour I think I'm ready for a holiday."

"Just as long as you're sure," said Bulma.

"I gave it a lot of thought. My wife will understand and my daughter's old enough to cope without me, and here you won't find any better training in the galaxy. You know I always wanted to spar with the father of Goku."

"Ha! Listen to this one Bardock! The human sounds like one of us!" From a vague spot behind him King Vegeta's voice echoed through dimensions.

Krillin turned back to them, looking awkward as he scratched his head. "Maybe you guys have rubbed off on me a bit _too _much. . . Point is, when I get back I'll be tougher than ever! Just you wait and see."

"I'll be counting on it." Trunks found his sword hand suddenly shaking. "Our enemies keep getting tougher and tougher. We all need to be at our best, especially with Goku and Vegeta away."

With his last sentence the saiyan turned to the group, each of whom nodded in turn as it dawned on them that years could pass before they saw either powerhouse again. In its opening months New Earth would be weak; vulnerable to those races in the galaxy who would see it as an easy target. If they didn't remain vigilant then all their hard work against Alpha would be for nothing.

"Exactly. See that you don't slack off while I'm gone," said the last voice.

Trunks felt his heart drop again with the fourth and final warrior placing his hand on King Kai's shoulder. "_Piccolo_. . ." he mumbled, too stunned to muster more than his name.

With arms folded and his back perpetually straight the namekian fighter stood a whole head over Tien, powerful and imposing in his calm poise. Around him the three spectral fighters recoiled in shock; clearly they were also unaware of his intent to stay.

"Don't look so surprised. I already crossed Hyperion's road anyway, it's not like I could come back even if I wanted to," he told them. Since he made the trip all by himself, even Raditz had forgotten that his mentor took on the challenge.

"But they need you back on Earth!" Uub protested. "We're just the footsoldiers – you're one of the best we have!"

Piccolo shook his head. "You can manage without me, you have before. Anyway, it's not like I'm disappointed about staying. This is better than my usual accommodation."

_ Good point_, figured Trunks. Compared to guarding hell the idea of spending his days in an eternal limbo realm of sleep and training must have sounded like a dream to the namekian. Trunks could hardly blame him. Piccolo had already served decades of mortal combat on the front lines; just trying to talk him around felt immoral.

"Say hello to Goku for me when he gets back," said Piccolo.

"No problem," Bulma assured him. "But be sure to stay in touch. You can tell him yourself if you're lucky."

"We will."

"Take care of yourself Piccolo," said Raditz.

"Same to you. Now we'd better get going before we drain King Kai of all his energy. He's supposed to be teaching the others some new move later."

"I promised nothing," said the Kai.

"Alright, see you around guys. Good luck with the training." As Trunks gave them his best a chorus of farewells followed. On both sides of the veil fighters said their goodbyes before fading away, waving as they did so until nothing remained but a sparse rooftop and a handful of depressed saiyans.

Silence claimed the skyscraper as the Z-Fighters returned to doing their own thing.

Bulma was first to leave. After surveying the landscape she disappeared through a doorway leading down into the heart of the highest building on Taulos. Already she was eager to get started on her new project: New Earth. With Vegeta and so many others gone Trunks suspected it was a coping mechanism designed to keep her mind occupied. Not that it was a detractor; when Bulma put her mind to something results were always around the corner.

As he reflected on the loss of his master Raditz took to the edge of the roof and stared out into oblivion. Trunks wondered where he would go from now. Would the once-renegade saiyan stay at their side even with his liege lord and brother both lost to the stars? As Novus approached him Trunks found his question answered; some hushed words of encouragement ended with she and Raditz holding hands, staring out over the sea of buildings together.

At long last it seemed to Trunks like Raditz had found some peace of mind. Neither he nor Novus had ever known a true home, and now they had a future to look forward to – a life not bound before the defeat of some higher evil.

Deciding to give them some privacy, Trunks took his place on the other side of the roof. There Goten stood in wait for him. Any doubts Trunks had about his friend's wellbeing were immediately shattered; this was Goten after all, the saiyan who saw the sunny side in any storm.

"We'll see them again, I wouldn't worry about that," he said to Trunks.

"I know." The saiyan nodded his head. "But we've got a lot of work to do before then."

"Sure we do. But this place is like every nerd's fantasy – I'm not likely to get bored of that anytime soon."

Trunks couldn't help but laugh. "I guess not."

"But for now the only thing I can think about is Super Saiyan 5. Everyone else here has had it except me. Like you said. . ." A hiss of power suddenly blazed from Goten's grip as his sword came to life. "Work to do."

Trunks reached for his own. Bulma was already hard at work; once again it was time to train.

"You want Super Saiyan 5?" he asked.

"Sure do."

"Well, without Hyperion's sword I can't reach it either. I'm as clueless as you as to where the hell to begin."

"Sounds like we've got the same goal."

"It does. So remind me why we're still standing here again?"

* * *

Vegeta's eyelids fluttered open to a jungle of neon and steel. Shards of metal in the shape of forest leaves sprang up before him, leading further into a canopy of lights and cybernetic vegetation.

The saiyan stilled his breath upon noticing footsteps around him. They had no tangible power signal for him to lock on to, but on all sides he heard the heavy shuffle of feet, slow and lumbering with each stride carrying the weight of a car. The beings conversed in computerised gibberish; a mishmash of different beeps, clicks and whirs.

The saiyan remained as motionless as a rock. From the sounds of things they hadn't noticed him waking up; in fact it almost seemed as if they were arguing with each other, no doubt deciding what to do with the foreign visitor who crash landed on their planet.

A cold, meaty hand closing around his tail was the cue for the saiyan prince. Before any could register his move Vegeta sprung off the ground, spinning out of the alien's grasp and transforming three levels before reaching the top of his climb, coming down with a monstrous right hook to his assailant. As he dropped into stance Vegeta finally got a good look at his guests.

In Earth terms the closest thing he could compare them to was a pack of gorillas. Half a dozen of them, each at least six foot in height, stared him down through glowing blue retinas. Like the world they came from they were made entirely out of an alloy he didn't know. Vegeta watched with a twinge of excitement as the gorilla he punched skidded back a mere ten feet, dented around the chest where his fist made contact.

Then the creature roared; an ear-numbing drone filled with flange and distortion, tearing apart the earth like a sonic wave. At the leader's beckon the others lumbered to a safe distance. Once in formation the six cyber-beasts enclosed Vegeta in a semicircle. He knew the tactic; they would come at him one at a time, hoping to catch him off guard whilst he was busy fending them off.

Most curious of all was the gorilla he struck. Beyond a knuckle-shaped scar to his outer shell the creature remained intact, shrugging off the attack of a Super Saiyan 3 like it was nothing.

"So, you're stronger than you look. . . Impressive. I didn't know the scrapheap did such good work," he goaded them.

Snarls and robotic whirs were his only reply from the rabble as they stamped feet and pounded chests. Vegeta ascended once more, letting the new paint job of the Super Saiyan 4 cloak him from the neck down. Cracking his knuckles, the Prince of all Saiyans prepared himself for a fight.

"Well what are you waiting for?" he snapped. "Get on with it!"

* * *

.

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, there's ending number 1 – keep reading for the second, I uploaded both 39 and 40 at the same time, as promised.

So yeah, the surviving Z-Fighters are using Taulos as the new location for Earth, something that characters have been worrying about for a while now. Well done to those of you who called it, I know at least a few of you did.

The only problem with this ending is that it isn't compatible at all with GT's epilogue and subsequent movie (the one with Pan and Goku jr) since they clearly take place on planet Earth. I always wanted AF to be in line with GT but I can't really say I'm too bothered about that little detail. This is how I imagined the Dragon Ball series would come to a close.

Holy crap! I just realised! The name Dragon Ball AF now makes sense! It means Alternate Future! I totally planned that all along! Honest!


	40. Chapter 40 Epilogue - The Last Plate

Chapter 40: Epilogue - The Last Plate

Three Years Later

"Whew! I'm beat!" Automatic glass doors swung open as Goten dragged himself into the café with Trunks in tow. His right hand trembled with the shock of an impact and his shirt was drenched in an arc of sweat.

The two saiyans ordered. Behind a bar topped by fluorescent lights the waitress poured their mugs. She was humanoid in form, but full-moon eyes, cat ears and a great bushy tail assured them she was something else entirely. Looking around, Goten noticed a whole host of alien life dotted around the coffee shop. One in every four customers had extra limbs or a different colour skin, and yet the people of Earth still conversed as if nothing was amiss.

Three years did much for human tolerance. Where once they rejected any and all alien life – with good cause no doubt – now there was peace. The waitress beamed a smile at Goten and winked before moving on to the next customer. The two saiyans took their seats.

"You really need to get her number," said Trunks.

Goten laughed. "Already did." He took a sip of his coffee, burning his lips on the scalding hot liquid before switching to simply blowing on it.

Opposite him Trunks pulled a towel off his shoulders and dabbed his forehead. Even after flying back through the gentle breeze of the planet's tailwinds the duo were still flushed and out of breath; every day's training was more intense than the last, and today was no exception.

As he sank into his chair Goten pulled off the device strapped to his wrist and plonked it on the table, freeing up his arm.

"Gotta drink these quick," he insisted. "Straight back to work."

"Are you sure?" Trunks gave him a look. "It's only one day Goten, and I know you probably want to spend time wit-"

"If we slack off we fall behind – my dad isn't going anywhere. Think about it: if my dad is here then Vegeta won't be far behind. Once he shows up it'll be back to group training. We can't have uncle Raditz showing us up!"

"True enough." Trunks took another gulp of his drink. After fidgeting with the controls on his mother's gadget the saiyan reduced the gravity back to New Earth's. In an instant his shoulders relaxed, his posture sagged and his breathing returned to normal. "Who's out today then?" he added.

"Raditz and Novus have the day off. Gohan's up on Trent; he wanted to show my dad all the best training spots," said Goten, pointing out of the window to one of the planet's five moons.

"What about Pan?"

"Doing her own thing I guess. Last I heard she's working on some new technique but she wouldn't tell me anything about it."

"No surprise there." Trunks shrugged; fighters and their secret moves. "How's Goku then? Where was he all this time?"

Goten shook his head. "I dunno exactly. You were there when he arrived yesterday right?"

"How could I forget? He steps out of a space pod barely big enough for a child, stumbles over to your mom like a zombie and just says 'how about that dinner then?'"

"Exactly. So anyway we had this huge feast – which was awesome by the way – then once he's full my dad immediately falls asleep. Must've had a _really _long trip."

"That sounds like Goku." Trunks couldn't help but laugh.

"Couldn't really get much from him to be honest. In between scoops of chicken he was going on about these 'Rekyite' things and Farspace and a load of other stuff I didn't understand."

"Just wait till he finds out about the Jiraiden – he'll be sad he missed _that _little scare."

As the two delved into discussion about little in particular the visitors came and went. An altercation between the waitress and some huge blue creature demanding his refund was promptly resolved by Goten driving a fist into his back; beyond that their half an hour break went entirely without incident until the clock struck noon.

A gigantic power on the planet's stratosphere suddenly forced their eyes to the sky. Around them the energy-sensitive beings perked up too. To those who could feel it the ki was impossible to ignore; a brimming mass of power that seemed to radiate from a single target. The mob of ignorant civilians began to panic, figuring another attack was on the way. Trunks grinned in delight.

Within five seconds the saiyans were bursting out of the café and onto the bustling streets of New Earth. Around them countless pedestrians turned their eyes to the clouds – past the floating highways of zigzagging cars to a spot in the sky where a foreign vessel punched through the clouds.

The architecture on the ship was like nothing from any race on New Earth. Spikes and spinning blades protruded from its every curve, asymmetrical and completely chaotic in its design. It was a fitting choice for the pilot in question, for the power they detected was almost definitely saiyan.

"Called it," said Goten. "Let's go welcome him home shall we?"

Trunks was already gone, launching to the air with no regard for the countless civilians watching his every move. He span through the traffic with Goten chasing his tail, emerging on the other side as the ship plummeted towards them. From there he could track its movements. The two saiyans followed the ship's every turn before it finally touched down on the roof of the new Capsule Corporation building.

Almost as soon as they landed Raditz and Novus appeared through Instant Transmission, followed shortly after by Pan.

Steam fled the scene as the 'air tight' door swung open, a slab of rusty metal already cracked across one of its hinges. Vegeta stepped out, hovering to the ground just in time for his wife and daughter to come rushing through the fire exit and onto the roof. They ran into his arms like they belonged there and the saiyan held them in a long embrace, coolly regarding Trunks with a grin and a nod of his head.

"I don't see Kakarot," he said when they parted. "Does that mean I'm the first one here?"

"Hey Vegeta!" The moment the prince finished his sentence Goku appeared, materialising in front of him with Gohan in tow.

"Blast it!" Cursing, Vegeta turned in frustration and aimed a kick at his ship. When his boot made contact with one of the four supporting prongs it buckled and snapped. The ship fell with an almighty crash, the chin of the cockpit scraping sparks along the roof.

"Aww don't do that!" said Goku. "You'll ruin your ship!"

"You mean you actually flew all the way across the galaxy in that deathtrap? It's falling apart!" Bulma was immediately furious. The inherent danger that came with flying such a craft was clearly lost on her husband.

"It gets the job done," said Vegeta, moments before the hanging door crashed to the ground. "It did," he insisted.

"We were worried you might never get back. How did you know where to go?" asked Gohan. Of all the Z-Fighters Vegeta was the only one who wasn't told about the move to Taulos.

"Believe me it wasn't easy. I drifted around for a while; eventually I found myself in a system I knew – the heart of the galactic underworld. The name Vegeta still means a thing or two to some people out there, so they welcomed me out of fear. Anyway, as vile as they are the smugglers, slavers and bounty hunters know their trade. It wasn't long before I heard word of this 'New Earth' place a dozen systems away."

"That's pretty badass," said Goten. Beside him Pan groaned. Vegeta said nothing, shrugging off the comment before moving onto his next point.

"Before we go inside there are a few things I'd like to know," the prince demanded. "I spent almost the whole war being manipulated by that freak. I couldn't see what was going on outside at all."

"That sounds awful. . ." muttered Bulma. Vegeta kept his mouth shut; if she knew how horrific it really was it would only keep her up at night.

"For starters, who got the honour of beating Frieza?"

"Oh! That was me! I did!" chirped Raditz, clenching his fist and tensing his arm as he remembered the first time he became a Super Saiyan 5.

Vegeta smiled and closed his eyes. "Ah well. At least it was a saiyan."

"Was that seriously the only thing you wanted to know?" Goku asked.

"No, there's still something else." To show them all Vegeta tugged down the collar of his blue vest. Starting at his shoulder a straight, thin scar was drawn diagonally across his torso. The prince then moved his hand down to the hem of the shirt, showing them where it finally ended at the opposite hipbone. His question was obvious.

"Who did this?"

Trunks froze as Z-Fighters left and right looked at each other with bewildered glances and shrugged in turn. He would've settled for just that, but behind him Goten sniggered loudly, barely containing his laughter. Trunks had told him all about his battle with Alpha Vegeta – he knew exactly how the prince got his scar. Now Vegeta rounded on Goten, knowing he had the identity of the man who forever scarred him.

Trunks stepped forward. He could say his piece now or Vegeta would beat the answer out of Goten; the former sounded marginally better to him.

"It was me."

Vegeta stopped in his tracks. The fighters watched in stunned silence as he turned towards his son, slowly and deliberately to instil as much fear as he possibly could. The prince walked right up to him; even at a few inches shorter his enormous shoulders and proud wave of hair made him a formidable sight.

"You?" he questioned again.

Trunks paused – was this a test? Swallowing his fear, the saiyan replied, "Yeah. Me."

When Vegeta raised a hand Trunks resisted the urge to flinch. Suddenly he was glad he did, for his father simply reached for the age-old sword Trunks constantly had glued to his spine. After pulling it from its sheath the prince held the edge to his scar, noting the similarity in width. He handed back the sword and clamped a hand on Trunks's shoulder.

"Nice work son," he said to the amazement of all. "I expect I'll be seeing the same kind of power from you in training." It wasn't a question – now he had expectations.

Fortunately Trunks felt confident in his abilities. Holding his father's stone cold gaze, the saiyan nodded. "You can."

"Good. . . And Kakarot!"

Trunks deflated like an old tire as Vegeta finally turned back to his rival.

"I take it you managed to access the Final Super Saiyan form all by yourself during your travels, am I right?"

"Nope." Goku shook his head. "But I feel like I'm getting close. I just need that little extra push in my training."

Vegeta smirked, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. "Funny. I know exactly what you mean Kakarot. . ."

A staredown ensued as the two saiyans prepared for battle, a second or so that felt like a lifetime with the atmosphere so tense one could cut it with a knife. Only Bulma stopped them destroying the new Capsule Corporation building. She threw herself in front of Vegeta and shoved him with an angry scowl.

"Oh no you don't! You just got back! I'm not having you two running off into space so you can punch each other to death already! We're going to throw a party in honour of you both getting back, sit down and talk like _normal people_ – and then if you still feel like it you can fight when it's over."

"A bout between warriors does _not_ wait for some foolish 'party'!" Vegeta insisted, suddenly finding he was alone in his argument.

Clearly that word meant more to Goku. At the mention of a social gathering his eyes sparkled and drool foamed at the corner of his mouth like a starving dog. "Another banquet! Did you hear that Vegeta?"

The prince already had a snappy retort lined up when a rumble from his stomach silenced any point he was about to make. Bulma eyed him with raised brows, maintaining her frown until finally Vegeta caved.

"You win this round woman."

* * *

A Few Hours Later

". . . And then they built this huuuge statue in my image," Goku finished his story. "They got my hair all wrong though, and I'm pretty sure the whole thing was made out of-"

"-Goku! The stew is ready!" Chi-Chi's voice cooed from the kitchen.

"Yay! Fifths!" In a heartbeat the saiyan was gone.

Goten was left alone, disappointed with only half a story. "What was it made out of!?" He called after him. Already too late; his father was now deaf to the world.

Using the whole fortieth floor as their venue the Z-Fighters enjoyed the hospitality of Capsule Corporation's upper level. On every side a bay window comprised the wall, looking out to the mayhem of the New Earth traffic from a completely soundproofed room.

In the kitchen ovens so smart they had voices prepared meals faster than even Chi-Chi. A buffet table was laid out in the dining room, already trashed with plates piled higher than Goku's head and wayward scraps of meat strewn across it like confetti. Where the table ended the living room began; six three-man sofas were arranged in a cosy circle. Wherever someone sat their bodies sank into the foam, like Buu himself was trying to hug them.

Mini-fridges became commonplace as more guests arrived. Roshi turned up to see Goku again, and with their prolonged absence the Z-Fighters of the past came to see the hoopla. Dende and Mr. Popo came at two, then Korin and Yajirobe before five. Later Oolong showed up, then Launch, Eighteen, Chiaotzu, Dr. Briefs, Mr. Satan, Puar, Ox King and even Yamcha.

Bulma would have the workers cart up drinks and more ingredients for some extra cash. At eight thirty – once the whole place was a wreck – Pan was put to bed for drinking a little too much. Trunks and Goten could only laugh at her misfortune as they watched the youngest Z-Fighter stumble around. Videl gave them an earful for that one.

After refilling his plate once more Goku walked into a nostalgic conversation. Vegeta, Raditz, Yamcha, Chiaotzu and Bulma were discussing something funny.

"No, no," Vegeta explained. "That was when I had my tail cut off – baldie with his stupid disk. Kakarot was already down for the count."

"So what you're saying is that without 'baldie's stupid disk' we wouldn't all be standing here today because you would've killed us all? Oh great honey, what a cheery story," said Bulma.

"Damn, where was I during all this?" Raditz groaned. Hearing them talk so fondly about past experiences always made him wish he'd been there for them.

"Dead!" squeaked Chiaotzu. "Piccolo fired a hole through your stomach!"

"Mine too, if I remember rightly." Goku sighed.

"Ah yes – back when you had the same power level as a Saibaman!" Vegeta minced no words, his bluntness gaining the laughter of everyone present, even Raditz himself.

"Yeah, I really was weak wasn't I?" he chuckled.

"Hey Yamcha didn't you get killed by one of those things?" added Bulma. More laughs followed at his expense.

"That doesn't count!" the bandit insisted. "It was a kamikaze attack! There's no way I could've known he was about to blow himself up!"

"At least his worked," lamented Vegeta.

"Yeah, mine didn't either," said Chiaotzu.

"When did this party get so depressing?" Goku looked around and shrugged. "C'mon we're meant to be celebrating! Another bowl for me!"

With a spring in his step the saiyan skipped back to the buffet table. Vegeta remained with the group, fuming as he watched Goku's back. Their stacks of empty plates remained at opposite sides of the table, both higher than the rest like two identical towers, already leaning under the weight of the china.

He couldn't allow Kakarot to overtake him, but the saiyan prince had a tad more social awareness than his counterpart. He couldn't let them see how petty he was, so he'd wait for an excuse to leave.

Seeing him watching, Bulma punched his arm. "Go on, I know how better than to come between a saiyan and their twentieth dinner."

Hardly ashamed, Vegeta took his cue, mumbling something like 'need the protein' as he strode for the food. Helping himself to a plateful of spaghetti he settled into a chair opposite Goku. Between mouthfuls of tomato it became increasingly hard to ignore the desperate attempts of Mr. Satan as he made every effort to sweet-talk Launch. Eventually he turned away in disgust.

"There's one thing I didn't miss in space," he grumbled.

"He'll regret it soon," Goku assured him. "Even Roshi knows better than to try it on with Launch."

"Good." Vegeta went back to his meal, twirling strings of pasta thrice around his fork before devouring it in one gulp. Neither said anything for a minute or so; a second plate tower was started for each of them during it. Once he found himself full – for now – the saiyan relaxed in his chair and glanced about the room.

"I haven't seen Piccolo – or baldie, Uub and three-eyes for that matter. Is there something I should know?" he asked.

With a glum nod of his head Goku replied, "They decided to stay in Otherworld. Didn't fancy taking that road until they get stronger – Uub might be stuck there for a while."

"Huh." The prince took a moment to consider it. "Shame. Then again it's not as if we desperately need the manpower. We got Novus this time around and Raditz with the last one – I hear he even made Super Saiyan 5."

"Years ago yeah! You still haven't seen it yet? It's really something."

"I'll see for myself soon enough."

"Back into training huh?"

"That's right," insisted Vegeta. His eyes found the window, focused and trained for any sign of attack. "We have to be vigilant. As much as I'm fond of this 'New Earth' it's also one of the most exposed and enormous planets in the universe. There isn't a captain worth their ship out there who hasn't heard of it."

"So? We can beat up regular old pirates." Goku didn't see the problem.

"Those aren't my concern. The universe is vast Kakarot – how long before another cosmic threat decides we've held on for too long?"

Goku scratched his head, confused as usual. "Well, that's why we're here isn't it? I mean look around you; I'd like to see a force in this world that could compete with the group of fighters gathered here."

"Yes Kakarot. So would I." Vegeta's blood boiled at the very thought of it.

"That's not what I – you're twisting my words!"

"It's not a question of if it happens; it's a question of _when_." The saiyan continued on his rant, oblivious to Goku's complaint. "We're not done here. Something else will come before we know it."

"From what I hear they already did. You hear about that thing with the 'Jiraiden'?"

"Yes, Trunks was very eager to tell me all about it earlier. Sounds like they held their own while we were away."

"Maybe we're not really needed here after all."

"I wouldn't go that far."

On instinct alone the two heads of spiky black hair turned in synch to the jangling roll of incoming trolleys. Another twenty plates were wheeled into the dining hall. Z-Fighters from every corner of the room made their way over to grab another dish. Goku and Vegeta were already on their third before anyone reached the table.

_Ding ding ding_.

The hollow chime of a glass being struck suddenly got the attention of everyone present. Silence took over as cutlery rattled to the table. Friends and family put down their forks to hear what Gohan had to say.

"Attention everyone!" With his natural height the half-saiyan was already a good head over most people in the room. Even so, he stood atop a chair so that everyone could hear him.

"Just to say first off, let's welcome back Goku and Vegeta. It hasn't been the same here without you guys."

Cheers and claps in agreement came next as the crowd parted to address the two saiyans. Goku put his hands behind his head and laughed awkwardly, relishing the attention as Vegeta tried his best to look as unfazed as possible with twenty pairs of eyes on him.

"We've had a rough couple of years," Gohan went on. "I know we've all been in separate places, we've had our own problems to solve and our own stories to tell. . . But we're all back here now – that's what matters most. No matter how many years we end up dead, trapped or even lost somewhere out in the galaxy. . ."

The man paused as his audience laughed. Vegeta turned an angry shade of scarlet.

". . . We always find our way home. This place is ours now, we've worked hard to maintain it and we've built a life here; something that's worth protecting. As long as this planet stands – as long as we stay united – there's no enemy out there we can't stand against."

Gohan raised his drink to a toast. "To Earth, and to enduring," he proposed.

Voices echoed his words as glasses rang around the room. Pressured by the gaze of the others, Vegeta finally gave in and clinked his drink against Goku's, eagerly holding out his cup in anticipation.

"See," whispered Goku. "Gohan agrees with me!"

"True, but he said it in a way that didn't make me think he was deluded and insane."

"Well you're probably half right."

"I don't do half measures."

At the same time the two saiyans reached across the table, not bothering to look as their hands slapped the surface, groping for another plate. They each found one and pulled, finding only a restraining force pulling on the other end. Finally turning their heads, Goku and Vegeta realised they'd grabbed the same plate.

The very last plate.

Vegeta pulled it towards him. "Let go Kakarot. This is my house, I should get the last dish."

"I'm a guest! I should get the courtesy! You'll have to do better than that!" Goku pulled harder.

"Last chance Kakarot, let it go."

"In your dreams Vegeta."

Sparks began to fly as the saiyans fixed glares at one another. Guests began to gather around the heated arm-wrestle, with only Bulma daring to intervene.

"Cut it out! You've been looking for an excuse to do this ever since you got back!"

To the men Bulma's voice was distant and far away. Neither bothered to register what she said. Instead Goku coiled a hand into his pocket and slapped one of her shiny new gravity enhancers onto his wrist. Before his mother could complain Trunks came rushing through the crowd, relinquishing his own to Vegeta.

"It's a new model," he went on, "much lighter and more resistant than the old ones. It goes all the way up to two thousand Gs."

"I suppose I should try it out then. . ." Vegeta's eyes never left his opponent; if he blinked even once Goku would get the first move.

Chi-Chi stomped over to pull back her husband. "Bulma's right, no fighting in here! Why don't you just play rock, paper, scissors like everyone else does!?" In her yelling spray of spittle the saiyan almost lost his composure.

"I have to see how much stronger he's gotten Chi-Chi," said Goku, still staring across the table. "I've been dying to know ever since he got back."

"Be careful what you wish for Kakarot. Last I counted I've still got more wins than losses where you're concerned."

"Don't think that means anything."

"We'll see."

Silence claimed the room as the crowd watched them both in nail-biting anticipation. No one dared say a word, fearing any sudden noise or movement would set them off like a gunshot - and they were right. Most backed up and some even made way for them, determined not to be the first domino Goku and Vegeta knocked over. As their hands coiled into fists Raditz leaned over and whispered in Novus's ear.

"Wanna see something funny?"

From the snacks behind him he seized a single peanut and threw it towards the bubbling saiyan cauldron. Like a well-aimed dart Raditz's missile sailed right across their field of vision, momentarily catching the eye of both Goku and Vegeta before harmlessly bouncing off a coaster.

The moment it hit the table was the signal for their battle. The pair watched it sail past their eyes, throwing themselves into combat before it left the surface. Most of the audience missed it; one second they were sat in their chairs and the next they were at each other's throats in a storm of fists.

Rising from their seats, Goku and Vegeta traded a round of ten punches so lightning fast that their crowd mistook it for a single exchange. As their arms became tangled they ended up grappling, Goku with both hands on Vegeta's collar and the prince with one around Kakarot's neck.

Before anyone knew it the orange clad saiyan sent Vegeta rolling halfway across the room with a throw. Auras flared as their powers reached heights most Z-fighters present never thought possible.

Bulma glanced around the room; they couldn't fight here without destroying the building, and yet there was no proper way out unless they ascended or descended at least twenty floors. As her husband got to his knees, grinning as he wiped away a finger of blood from his mouth, Bulma figured he had no intention of taking the stairs.

Goku remained at the table, nursing a bruised cheek. With his free hand the saiyan reached for the final plate, ignoring Bulma's protests.

"Not the window, not the window, not the window!"

Too late. Like a primed firework Vegeta set off, a blue meteorite streaming across the room, goring Goku off his feet before he could lay a finger on the last meal of the day. As a moving, spinning cluster of orange and blue sparks they headed for the window, their energy shattering it for them.

"You're paying for all of that!" Bulma screamed after them.

Unfortunately the window was also the entire wall. Z-Fighters old and new shielded their faces from the howl of the high wind as the traffic racing by finally made itself heard. The living room became an air-conditioned draft of crosswinds, horns, hollering drivers and engine sounds.

The audience gathered at the broken window to watch as the saiyans flew into traffic, dodging cars in a series of spins whilst at the same time trying to clobber the other. After Goku bounced from the bonnet of an angry taxi driver they both decided fighting here was too risky.

Trunks and Goten watched them fly through the maze of crosscutting cars and into the sky. Eventually they became two ascending comets in the distance, spiralling around each other as they searched for an opening on their way into space. Rummaging around his pockets, Goten eventually found his gravity enhancer.

Raditz squeezed past him and leapt out the window. "Hurry up Slowten!" he called. Behind him Novus followed in tow, joined shortly after by Gohan who – as Trunks noticed – was already tucking into the last plate. In just five seconds Trunks and Goten found themselves the only saiyans left on the balcony, Goten still fumbling with the strap on his gravity enhancer.

"Don't you need to get another one?" he checked with his partner.

"I'll be fine," said Trunks. "Just go, I'm right behind you."

"Alrighty." Goten turned to the crowd behind him, the friends his father had amassed over the years. They knew saiyans better than anyone; this couldn't have been anything new to them. "Wouldn't miss this for the world," he excused himself. "We'll let you know how it goes!"

Before any could stop them Trunks and Goten joined the tail of the five-man mission, already heading up through the clouds way above. In response the two saiyans transformed, gearing up to their fastest speeds as they headed for the atmosphere. With the air growing thin Goten flicked the switch on his wrist-strapped device. Trunks drew his sword and twirled it in a circle.

"_Echo Force!_"

A translucent dome of reflective ki kept the void at bay as the two saiyans propelled themselves into the depths of space. Gohan, Raditz and Novus hovered around them, far away enough to dodge an attack if some huge energy wave rebounded from the battle.

Goku and Vegeta stood poised in another staring match some hundred metres apart. At Super Saiyan 5 they were stronger than ever before – their energy readings spoke for them. Goten suddenly felt as though he were watching two rivalling titans; for years they'd fought and conquered, and yet as much as they loved to fight there was always one opponent their minds kept coming back to.

It was six years since their last true brawl. Six whole years with the saiyan inside them whispering: how much stronger has the other one gotten? What would it be like to fight them now? They were about to have their answer when another set of figures appeared.

Between Goku and Vegeta a group of holographic fighters made their entrance in a ghostly shudder of light. Having gotten much better at his new technique, King Kai relayed the image of all the fighters who helped them against Alpha. Piccolo, Uub, Krillin, Tien, Bardock and King Vegeta all appeared against the dark backdrop of space, joining the others in their wait for the battle to begin.

"Let's make this a nice clean fight guys," said Krillin, assuming the role of referee. "No gouging, no biting, no low blows."

Piccolo took it upon himself to raise an arm. Glancing left to right, he made sure both fighters were still in their corners before waving down the invisible flag.

"_Begin!_"

As the joust of the century Goku and Vegeta flew at one another. Blue and orange formed arrow-straight streaks as they raced for the centre, roaring war cries that echoed across the void. With fists full of focused energy they collided with a blast of colour that shook the system to its core.

Once more they became visible to their friends on the surface, each saiyan a lightning-bound aurora – the fireworks of celebration on New Earth's horizon.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

Author's Notes: And that's all she wrote folks! Thank you so much for reading guys. Whether you've been with me from the start or just began reading you've helped to make this story. Wouldn't have made it this far on my own. My only regret is that it took this long, and I hope that doesn't detract too much from the finished product.

So yeah, as I'm sure a few of you noticed I thought I might make the opening scene of this last chapter the same as the very first – Trunks and Goten in a coffee shop being rudely interrupted by Vegeta. Bit of an easter egg for you TROSAT readers there.

Anyway, the idea was to try and give the characters and the series a sense of closure (which I thought Z and GT's endings both lacked) whilst at the same time implying that a load of stuff happened off-screen during the three year timeskip.

As we saw earlier, Piccolo and the others stayed in otherworld to train so they don't really have a story.

Goku flew around the galaxy having wacky Dragon Ball-esque adventures in space.

Vegeta hung out in the galactic underworld for a time, gathering information and laying low with the scumbags out there until he finally learned about New Earth.

Goten, Trunks, Raditz and Novus defended New Earth from a mysterious alien race known as the 'Jiraiden'. I imagine Bulma also had a lot to deal with between housing, politics, organising galactic trade, granting asylum for new species and so on.

Gohan and Pan spent most of the time on Hyperion's road, although I imagine they arrived back just in time for the Jiraiden threat.

Also for Vegeta I was planning on having an extra scene (which I left out because it didn't really fit anywhere and would make this long ending even longer) where he flies past New Namek and is confronted by Porunga. As compensation for his evil alter-ego enslaving Vegeta's mind Porunga would give the saiyan his Dragon Balls, like Shenron does with Goku. Since Gogito used up all of Goku's Dragon Ball energy for the last Crimson Dragon Kamehameha they would 'reset' after that, effectively putting Goku and Vegeta back on the exact same level of power.

Anyone who wants to regard that as 'AF canon' feel free. It was always my intention to put that scene there but it just didn't seem to fit and would require a whole chapter to itself.

It seems we're coming to the end now. Unfortunately I don't plan on doing a third DBAF. If I get bored a few years down the line I might just revisit this and write a few short stories about the situations listed above, but I wouldn't hold my breath for those.

That doesn't mean this is the end of the road! Fanfiction has always been practice for me; I fully intend to become a published author at some point, and now that AF is over I can finally crack on with the fourth (and hopefully final) draft of a book I've been trying to write for the last _six years_. The idea with it is to blend elements and concepts from Western High Fantasy with Eastern Shonen Manga. So yeah, DBAF was essentially me practising putting those dramatic shifts and awe-inspiring action sequences into writing. Now I'm confident enough in my abilities - it's gonna be awesome.

The name's Josh Thompson. Keep your eye out in the fantasy/sci-fi market because hey, you just never know! On that note I suppose there's only one thing left I can possibly say:

. . .

"_Until we meet again guys!"_


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